Satellite images show Russia building giant radar near NATO border

Russia is nearing completion of a large radar station in the Kaliningrad region that could detect aircraft, missiles and ships up to 3,000 kilometres away, potentially covering much of Europe, Slovak broadcaster TA3 reported, citing Germany's Deutsche Welle.

The complex is being built 37 kilometres from the Polish border, near Guryevsk, according to satellite images from Polish-Finnish defence company ICEYE that show three rows of antennas, each more than 500 metres long, surrounded by a double fence.

"We still don't know if it is operationally capable of doing that, but it is certainly being built right now," said Vaidotas Malinionis, a retired Lithuanian armed forces colonel, describing the radar's purpose as long-range detection and early warning for Russian forces.

Polish outlet Defence24 said construction began in March 2023 on a system similar to Russia's existing 29B6 Konteyner radar, which uses shortwave signals reflected off the ionosphere to detect targets beyond the horizon and can reportedly track up to 10,000 aerial targets simultaneously, including F-35 jets, according to Russian military officials.

A second large ring-shaped radar more than 1,600 metres across is being built nearby, near Chernyakhovsk, also since March 2023; the two facilities may be linked, though the second complex's purpose is not known, Defence24 said. Kaliningrad region hosts more than 20 electronic reconnaissance and countermeasures facilities in total, according to the report.

Malinionis said the radar's size also makes it an easy target in any conflict. Senior officials in Poland and Lithuania believe Russia may already have stationed some of up to 100 nuclear warheads it could deploy to Kaliningrad, the report said, citing The Times, though this has not been independently confirmed.