US general: LCMR radars working well for Ukraine
AN/TPQ-49 Lightweight Counter-Mortar Radars (LCMRs) have been highly effective for the Ukrainian military, according to the top US Army general in Europe.
Ukrainian use of the LCMR "has turned out better than expected", and Ukrainian military units have found "new ways" of using the radar, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, head of US Army Europe (AREUR), told reporters during a 17 March breakfast meeting.
In late 2014 the US Army began delivering the first of 20 LCMRs to Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence is understood to have purchased more.
The US Army defines the LCMR as a "day/night mortar, cannon, and rocket locating system".
It can be deployed in 20 minutes and is designed to automatically locate firing positions by the detecting and tracking in-flight shells and back-tracking that data to provide a weapon position, according to IHS Jane's C4ISR and Mission Systems .
Still, Ukraine likely needs to get more capable at counter-jamming missions, Lt Gen Hodges added. Russian-backed separatists have been jamming Ukrainian C4ISR systems and effectively targeting Ukrainian units, which would need to either attack the source of the jamming or 'spoof' the electronic warfare systems being used against them.
