Drone-detection radar
Finding the small, slow and low
What it is
Drone-detection radar is sensing tuned to the targets classical air-defence radar was never designed to see: small, slow, low-flying unmanned aircraft with tiny signatures. It is the first layer of every credible counter-drone defence: nothing can be defeated that has not been detected.
How it is employed
Detection radar is sited around the assets it protects, whether bases, borders, critical infrastructure or public events, and fused with electro-optical confirmation and defeat systems into a layered counter-UAS chain. Track data feeds the engagement decision; coverage is designed around terrain and the expected threat axis.
Why it matters now
Mass drone attack has moved from novelty to routine across recent conflicts, and commercial drones adapted for attack fly below the coverage of legacy air-surveillance radar. Sites that assume the national air picture will see a small drone arriving discover otherwise, usually once.
Procurement & integration
Procurement starts from the sites to be defended, not the sensor brochure: a coverage design against local terrain and threat axes, then integration with the defeat layer and the wider air picture. Unstrat represents the detection and defeat chain through one channel, sustained in-region.
Sourcing routes compared
| Consideration | Major-power prime | Independent principal via Unstrat |
|---|---|---|
| Target set | Legacy radar tuned to fast, high, large targets | Sensing designed for small, slow and low drones |
| Integration | Locked into a single-power air-defence architecture | Integrates into the buyer's existing air picture |
| Political conditions | Disclosure rules, re-export restrictions and upgrade approvals held by a foreign government | Independent, non-aligned origin, accountable to the buyer's flag |
| Accountability | Multiple contractors and a foreign prime's release schedule | One accountable team from first briefing through delivery and in-region sustainment |
Comparison is qualitative. Detailed specifications are shared under briefing once the export-control position for your market is confirmed.
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Questions buyers ask
What is drone-detection radar?
Drone-detection radar is sensing tuned to the targets classical air-defence radar was never designed to see: small, slow, low-flying unmanned aircraft with tiny signatures. It is the first layer of every credible counter-drone defence, because nothing can be defeated that has not been detected. Track data feeds the engagement decision.
Why can't existing air-defence radar see small drones?
Legacy air-surveillance radar is tuned to fast, high, large targets, while commercial drones adapted for attack fly below its coverage with tiny signatures. Sites that assume the national air picture will catch a small drone usually discover otherwise once. Detection radar closes that gap by design.
Where does drone-detection radar sit in a counter-UAS chain?
It is the first layer, sited around the assets it protects and fused with electro-optical confirmation and defeat systems into a layered counter-UAS chain. Detection cues the engagement; defeat follows. That is why the capability maps to the counter-UAS product and cross-references passive radar and electronic warfare.
How is detection-radar coverage designed for a protected site?
Coverage is designed around terrain and the expected threat axis, sited around the bases, borders, infrastructure or events being protected rather than sold from a sensor brochure. Procurement starts from the sites to be defended, then integration with the defeat layer and the wider air picture. We represent the detection and defeat chain through one channel, sustained in-region.
See: The procurement path
How does detection radar integrate with an existing air picture?
On the independent route it integrates into the buyer's existing air picture rather than locking the force into a single-power air-defence architecture. Track data feeds the engagement decision within that national picture. That keeps the sensing layer under national control.
How does drone-detection radar relate to passive radar?
They are complementary sensing layers: passive radar watches without emitting, giving an adversary nothing to find, while detection radar is active sensing tuned to small, slow, low targets. Both feed the counter-drone picture, which is why the capability cross-references passive radar and electronic warfare. A layered posture often uses both.
Which product delivers the drone-detection-radar capability?
The capability maps to the counter-UAS product, where detection sits as the first layer of the defeat chain. That is why the capability page and the counter-UAS catalogue entry point at one another. Detection-range figures belong in a scoped evaluation against your sites, not a capability overview.
See: The counter-UAS catalogue entryCounter-UAS against a named system
How does detection radar work with electro-optical confirmation?
Detection radar is fused with electro-optical confirmation and defeat systems into a layered counter-UAS chain, so a track is confirmed before an engagement decision is made. The radar finds the small, slow, low target; the electro-optical sensor confirms what it is. That layering is how a credible counter-drone defence avoids acting on a false track.
Mass drone attack is now routine and our air picture missed a small drone. What layer should we reference to fix that?
Drone-detection radar, because it is sensing tuned to exactly the small, slow, low targets legacy air-surveillance radar misses. It is the first layer of a credible counter-drone defence, fused with electro-optical confirmation and defeat systems, and coverage is designed against your terrain and threat axis. Nothing downstream can defeat what was never detected, so the sensing layer is where the fix starts.
How do we procure detection radar so it is not locked into a foreign air-defence architecture?
Start from the sites to be defended and design coverage against terrain and threat axis, then integrate with the defeat layer and your existing air picture rather than adopting a single-power architecture. We represent the detection and defeat chain through one channel, sustained in-region. The integration row is where lock-in is avoided or accepted.
What detection range should we write into a tender, and does the capability page publish one?
The capability page does not publish a detection range, because range against small drones depends on the target, terrain and siting rather than a single headline figure. We treat that number as something to establish in a scoped evaluation against your sites rather than assert in an overview. The counter-UAS catalogue entry and comparison page are where product-level specifics are held to what we can stand behind.
See: The counter-UAS catalogue entryRequest a coverage-design briefing
How does detection radar sit alongside the wider electronic-warfare portfolio?
Detection is the sensing that opens the counter-drone kill chain, and electronic defeat is one of the defeat options that follow within the electronic-warfare portfolio. The capability cross-references passive radar and electronic warfare because they are scoped together in the spectrum fight. A buyer solving the small-drone problem usually touches all three.
Is a detection-radar layer worth it if we already run active air-defence radar?
Usually yes, because the active radar you run is tuned to fast, high, large targets and small drones fly below its coverage. Detection radar adds a target set the existing sensors miss, and it integrates into the same air picture rather than replacing it. The honest test is whether your current picture has ever seen a small drone arriving, which many discover it has not.
See: Target set and integration comparedCritical infrastructure protection
Who accounts for a detection-radar deployment and its integration into our air picture once delivery closes?
We represent the detection and defeat chain through one channel and sustain it in-region, rather than leaving integration to spread across contractors on a foreign prime's schedule. That single accountable relationship covers the siting, the fusion with electro-optical and defeat systems, and the tie-in to the wider air picture. Accountability is a comparison row precisely because a layered chain has more parts to keep aligned.
See: Accountability in the comparison tableHow we deliver and sustain
How should detection radar be scoped alongside passive sensing for a site that must not reveal its sensors?
Pair active detection, tuned to small, slow, low targets, with passive sensing that emits nothing, so the covert layer keeps watching even when active emitters would give the site away. Both feed one air picture, and both integrate into the buyer's existing chain rather than a single-power architecture. Coverage is designed against terrain and threat axis, which is why the reference cross-links passive radar and electronic warfare.