HENSOLDT COBRA Artillery Radar: Counter-Battery System in Ukraine and NATO Armies
COBRA (Counter Battery Radar) is a joint development by Germany, France, and the UK — with HENSOLDT as the German partner — that locates enemy artillery, mortar, and rocket positions by back-tracking the trajectory of fired projectiles to their point of origin.
Why Counter-Battery Radar Matters
Artillery is called the “god of war.” Locating and suppressing enemy batteries before they can reposition — counter-battery fire — is one of the most time-sensitive tasks in land warfare. COBRA compresses the decision loop from minutes to seconds: it detects a shell in flight, back-tracks its trajectory, and transmits firing coordinates to friendly artillery within seconds of the first round leaving the enemy barrel.
Technical Specifications
- Frequency: C-band AESA
- Target types: artillery, mortars, MLRS rockets, and ballistic missiles
- Location accuracy: tens of meters at range
- Range: 40+ km for artillery/mortars; greater for larger ballistic targets
- Mobility: wheeled vehicle-mounted for tactical deployment
COBRA in Ukraine
Germany delivered COBRA systems to Ukraine, where they were used to locate Russian artillery batteries. By compressing the detection-to-engagement cycle from minutes to seconds, COBRA enabled Ukrainian counter-battery fires before Russian crews could displace — a decisive tactical advantage in artillery-dominated eastern-front combat.
Sources
hensoldt.net · OCCAR COBRA programme · Germany-France-UK defence MOUs
