The recently received US-made AN/TPQ-49 lightweight counter mortar radar systems and AN/TPQ-36 firefinder weapon locating systems will be presented at the country’s Independence Day military parade in Kyiv on 24 August.
The AN/TPQ-49 and AN/TPQ-36 counter-battery radars will make its maiden public appearance after they were delivered from the USA as part of military assistance for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The modern mobile counter-battery radars were delivered to help the country deter further offensives as the conflict in its eastern regions that has already claimed more than 10,000 lives.
The radar systems delivered helps defend Ukrainian military personnel and civilians against rocket and artillery attacks, which have historically been the most lethal threat to Ukrainian personnel and civilians.
The U.S. Army sent counter-battery radars to Ukraine in 2015 and 2016 as part of the US presidential drawdown, according to officials in the Army Communications-Electronics Command’s (CECOM) Security Assistance Management Directorate (SAMD).
The AN/TPQ-49 Lightweight Counter Mortar Radar (LCMR) system provides continuous 360 degree surveillance and 3-D RAM location using a non-rotating, electronically steered antenna. Its full azimuth coverage allows it to simultaneously detect and track multiple rounds fired from separate locations within at a maximum range of 10 km.
The radar can be assembled or disassembled quickly by two soldiers in 20 minutes. It mounts on a tripod using lightweight antenna hardware, allowing for rapid emplacement and ease of relocation. It is small in size and consumes low prime power, making it ideal for low profile operation.
It can be deployed in challenging locations previously unavailable to traditional counterfire radars, making it an ideal solution for force protection at Forward Operating Bases.
A more advanced version, called AN/TPQ-36, can detect and report the positions of up to 10 different weapons in seconds, at a maximum range of 24 km.
The AN/TPQ-36 is composed of an ATG, shelter mounted on a Humvee, generator power group and an auxiliary trailer-mounted generator.
The system also corrects and improves delivery of friendly fire. The mobile TPQ-36 Firefinder system can be set up in just 15 minutes, and removed and moving from the set up location in just 5 minutes.