Spain’s next counter-battery radar promises to quickly detect incoming artillery, rockets, and mortars and trace them back to their launch point.
Called the RALOFI (Radar for Locating the Origin of Indirect Fire), the system features a fully electronically scanned array architecture, supported by gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors and software-defined radio communications.
Together, these technologies aim to extend detection range and accuracy against indirect fire threats, while improving resistance to electronic interference.
The battery is designed to support automated operation and link with battlefield command-and-control networks.
Beyond tracking incoming fire, it could also be used for ground surveillance, naval monitoring, or protecting forward operating bases.
The radar is intended to give the Spanish Armed Forces a long-range detection capability that can be deployed quickly and adapted to a range of operational scenarios.
Local Industry Push
Developed under a Special Modernization Program, the RALOFI effort brings together an industrial core led by Indra, alongside firms such as GMV, Nord Motorreductores, and smaller companies including Niasa, Teyde 2010, and AC Precisión.
The radar’s design, development, and manufacturing will take place in Spain, with national companies accounting for more than 80 percent of participation.
The project is also expected to create jobs across engineering, advanced electronics, software development, manufacturing, and system integration.
“The objective is to strengthen the defense industrial base and incorporate into these programs any company with technological capabilities that may be of interest,” said Miguel Rodríguez Mora, director of land systems business unit at Indra.
He added that the program also seeks to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers and build greater technological sovereignty over defense systems developed domestically.
