TechRussia's crucial $100m Nebo-U radar destroyed by drones

Russia's crucial $100m Nebo-U radar destroyed by drones

Nebo-U.
Nebo-U.
Images source: © Wikimedia Commons
Norbert Garbarek

16 April 2024 17:43

Russians lost a $100 million long-range radar system Nebo-U. Until now, the equipment allowed for the control of the airspace up to approximately 700 kilometres deep into Ukraine. We recall the destroyed radar capabilities by the Ukraine Security Service.

Radar systems are valuable devices that, while they do not constitute a direct threat to the opponent, their presence significantly affects the utility of allied aviation and all armoured forces stationed on land. They are equipment that allows observing enemy movements in the air, and this knowledge can be used by the army to plan strikes.

The Nebo-U radar mentioned was one of the tools that helped Russia observe Ukrainians' behaviour in the sky. It was, because its destruction is reported by, among others, Ukrainian Pravda. The portal cites its own sources related to the army. Drones contributed to the exclusion of this equipment from operations. According to reports, the $100 million system was hit by seven kamikaze drones. As a result, it "turned into a colander" and ultimately stopped working.

Russia lost the Nebo-U radar

– The Nebo-U system helped the occupiers detect Ukrainian means of strike and supported bombers attacking the Ukrainian border zone with KABs – said in a conversation with Ukrainian Pravda interlocutors, who decided to remain anonymous. The loss for the Russians is, therefore, very severe – Nebo-U can indeed conduct reconnaissance missions within a range of up to 700 kilometres and observe targets at altitudes up to about 74 kilometres.

As explained by the portal radartutorial.eu, 55Zh6U Nebo-U is a fully autonomous radar that transmits analogue and digital data to air defence systems. According to the manufacturer, this equipment working in the VHF band is also effective in tracking objects with reduced detectability (of stealth characteristics). The accuracy of detecting targets in the air is estimated, in the case of the Russian design, at approximately 500 metres, while the error in determining position is 0.4 degrees.