Electronic warfare specialists have started training on new STARKOM jammers. The armored Tatra equipped with several masts with antenna systems can, for example, disrupt the enemy's radio communications, its command and control systems, air communications, connections via mobile phones or global satellite positioning signal (GNSS). Get to know the unique technique of Czech production.
Prague – On Tuesday, army electronic warfare specialists began training in the Libavá military district with the new STARKOM mobile communication jammer. The Czech army announced this on its website www.army.cz. The device placed on the Tatra armored vehicle can disrupt, for example, the enemy's radio communications, air communications, connections via mobile phones or global satellite positioning signals. It was compiled for the Czech Army by the Military Research Institute Brno (VVÚ).
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The contract for the purchase of eight mobile STARKOM electronic warfare devices for 1.45 billion crowns including VAT was concluded by the Ministry of Defense in December 2019. One of them is already available to the army, the rest will be received by the end of the year.
According to the army, practical training on jammers is preceded by several months of intensive theoretical preparation. A group of experienced instructors from the 532nd Electronic Warfare Battalion are now training at Libavé, who will train dozens of rank-and-file operators in the coming weeks. “With the introduction of new, increasingly complex technologies, the requirements for their operation also increase. Modern technology intended for electronic warfare requires an electrical engineering or IT education as well as a considerable amount of personal initiative and diligence,” the army said.
“Training at STARKOM, we take it as a big challenge. We work with technology that has no analogues in the Army of the Czech Republic or in the entire alliance, and that drives us forward,” the army quoted electronic attack platoon commander Lieutenant David F.
STARKOM supplies the army VVÚ together with a number of companies of the Czech defense industry. The decisive share is held by the company URC Systems, which provides reconnaissance and jamming technologies and the relevant highly sophisticated software. The machine can conduct electronic warfare while moving or from a standstill.
According to the army, STARKOM is a substantially improved successor to older mobile jammers such as MVKVR, PPR or MUKVR. This technique will be phased out with the introduction of a new generation of jammers. “STARKOM is a unique tool not only in the armies of European countries, but also in the whole of NATO,” said the commander of the 532nd Electronic Warfare Battalion, Lt. Col. Lukáš Hoza.
