The first Israeli medium-range ELM-2084 M-MMR radar is already stationed at the military training ground near Trenčín. It is currently undergoing acceptance tests, after which it will become part of Slovakia's radio-electronic reconnaissance. The country is returning to its own full-fledged air defense (PPO) for the first time since spring 2022, when Bratislava transferred its S-300 system to Ukraine.
For Ukrainians living in Slovakia, this news has a very practical meaning: it concerns the security of the country's airspace, which borders Ukraine, during the war, where drones regularly enter the airspace of neighboring states.
What this radar can do
The ELM-2084 is produced by Elta Systems, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries. It is a multi-purpose 3D radar. According to Teraz.sk, besides detecting airplanes and helicopters, it also detects small targets: unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), including kamikaze drones like Shahed, as well as artillery shells.
A special advantage of the system is its deployment speed: it moves from a transport position to full combat readiness in less than a minute. For mobile air defense (PPO), which often has to change positions, this is a significant difference.
Contract delayed for years
Slovakia signed a contract to purchase 17 such radars back in March 2021, with a contract amount of about 148 million euros. Deliveries were planned for 2023–2025, but the schedule was disrupted: the first units arrived only with a several-year delay, reported Pravda.
The agreement also included technology transfer. Slovak defense companies, including Letecké opravovne Trenčín, were involved in producing modules for the radars.
Radars are only half the system
Radars themselves do not shoot down anything — they are the “eyes” of the future air defense (PPO). The “missiles” will be Israeli Barak MX systems: in December 2024, Slovakia ordered 6 batteries of this system for 560 million euros, reported SME. The ELM-2084 radars will be integrated with Barak MX to guide missiles to their targets. According to the defense publication MILMAG, the first of six batteries is already on Slovak territory.
Together, the new system is meant to replace outdated Soviet complexes — the mentioned S-300, which was sent to Ukraine, and the 2K12 “Kub,” which has been in service since socialist times.
What this means in practice
The Ministry of Defense does not specify exactly when Slovakia’s air defense (PPO) will be fully operational — the schedule has already shifted several times. But the first radar in position and the news about the first Barak MX battery in the country mean that the program has finally moved from paper to reality.
For residents of border regions — from Prešov to Košice — this is a gradual closing of the “blind spot” that appeared after the S-300 was transferred to Ukraine. For almost three years, Slovakia relied mostly on NATO allies’ air defense (PPO). Now its own shield, although slowly, is appearing.
