Ukraine has received the first TRML-4D radar systems to complement the recently supplied IRIS-T air defense missile system that is already protecting Ukrainian airspace.
The transfer of the TRML-4D was announced by the manufacturer company Hensoldt. This is the first of a total of four to match the number of IRIS-T committed by Germany. The next supplies would "follow within a few months," the company said.
Read more: Ukraine Declares Creation of Air Shield Over the Country as the Number One Task – the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba
The TRML-4D is a modern sensor system that was presented in 2018 and on short notice became the main sensor of the IRIS-T SLM fire unit. It works in C-band spectrum and uses the AESA radar technology (Active Electronically Scanned Array) which enables the acquisition of targets after just one rotation of the antenna; it improves the response time and hit probability in a complex environment with a high target density and involving highly agile and asymmetric threats.
"It is capable of detecting, tracking, and classifying various types of air targets, with a particular emphasis on small, fast, and low-flying and/or maneuvering cruise missiles and aircrafts and hovering helicopters," as stated in Hensoldt’s press release.
According to the manufacturer, the radar can track more than 1,500 targets in parallel in 3D, covers 360° in horizontal and 100° vertical azimuth, and spots a fighter aircraft within 120 km range and a supersonic missile within 60 km.
The sensitivity of this radar was highly praised by an air defense specialist from Ukraine’s Air Force, who said with such a radar IRIS-T would be able to detect low-flying barely visible targets such as russian Kh-101 cruise missile.
Read more: How IRIS-T Can Bolster Ukraine’s Air Defense, Can It Shoot Down an Iskander
