Czech Company Introduced New Long-Range Passive Radar

22 September 2021

PLESS radar by ERA (photo : ERA)

During the NATO Days in Ostrava & AČR Air Force Days scheduled for September 18-19 at the Leoše Janáček airport in Mosznów, the Czech company ERA Systems for the first time presented a passive long-range radar called PLESS : Passive Long-range ESM Surveillance System (Israeli radars but for the Czech Republic).

As the Czech manufacturer emphasizes, while the VERA-NG passive detection system offered so far has an instrumental range of up to 400 km, PLESS achieves a parameter of as much as 700 km in this range. The system is to be able to detect over-the-horizon (OTH) aircraft and sea-going vessels. For example, the possibility of detecting vessels in the Baltic Sea from the territory of the Czech Republic was given.

PLESS is able to detect position, locate, analyze and identify static or slow-moving objects, such as vessels and short- and medium-range radar, but also manned and unmanned airplanes. The system works on the principle of directional interception of the source of electromagnetic energy emission in the frequency bands from 0.1 to 18 GHz (so-called Direction Finding), generated by radio transmitters of objects that are scattered in the troposphere and reflected from the Earth's surface, far beyond the radiolocation horizon.

PLESS radar by ERA (photo : MILMAG)

Thanks to the passive detection method, the system works covertly and does not send signals that could lead to its location by the enemy. Therefore, in the long term, it can supervise the airspace, land and sea at large distances, e.g. behind enemy lines. According to ERA Systems, this will provide support for land units in the field of threat reconnaissance without the need to conduct aerial reconnaissance, when such is not possible.

At the same time, it can be used to monitor maritime activities in international waters and along coasts. The system can provide early warning capabilities about threats, track targets of interest, or assist in completing national reference databases of specific targets.

ERA Systems inherits the experience of Tesla from Pardubice, and its systems benefit from 50 years of development of the original Czech technology in the field of passive radar. During the two decades of its existence, it has sold over 100 sets of passive radar to over 60 countries on five continents. These systems are used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The company also supplies the civil market with airport technologies for air traffic control and tracking aircraft take-offs and landings.

(MILMAG)