Netherlands Purchases VERA-NG Passive Radar System

On June 14, the Dutch Ministry of Defense announced that it would purchase the VERA-NG passive surveillance system for Ukraine.

The ministry's press service said that four systems would be purchased for €150 million.

The ministry did not clarify whether the system will be purchased directly from the manufacturer, the Czech defense contractor ERA, or from one of the countries currently operating the VERA-NG.

The system is designed to detect, locate, track and identify air, ground and sea targets and provide continuous wave signal analysis.

VERA-NG supports cross-border, long-term and remote surveillance. Passive systems are considered silent, because they emit zero electromagnetic energy.

It also provides the ability to collect and process electronic intelligence information.

ERA claims that the system has a range of up to 400 kilometers and can detect up to 500 targets in real time through the principle of difference in time of arrival, or TDOA.

In addition, the Netherlands, one of Ukraine's main military backers, will announce that it will allocate €40 million for the purchase of air defense equipment within the framework of a multilateral partnership.

This equipment will be delivered to Ukraine in the near future.

The Russian military has destroyed dozens of Kiev forces' fire control and surveillance radars since the start of special operations in Ukraine last year.

Most radars are destroyed with anti-radiation missiles, such as the Kh-31P, and loitering munitions, such as the Lancet.

VERA-NG passive surveillance systems will be more difficult to detect, especially if deployed far from the front lines. However, these systems cannot completely replace active radar systems, especially in air defense regulations.

This system, for example, is not capable of detecting air targets that are not generating any signals. They are also more vulnerable to electronic warfare.