On Tuesday, June 16, 2026, the second day of the 29th edition of Eurosatory 2026, the international defense industry trade show organized by Coges Events, taking place June 15-19 of this year in Paris-Nord Villepinte near Paris, Czech holding company Czechoslovak Group (CSG) presented, together with its partners, the Trident air defense system.
Photos: CSG
The system was designed to protect military formations, strategic installations, and larger territorial units against a wide spectrum of aerial threats, including aircraft, helicopters, guided missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and other target types.
The Trident system was designed as a modular short-, medium-, and long-range air defense system. Its specific configuration may vary depending on the customer’s operational requirements. In addition to surface-to-air guided missiles, the system can also integrate armament based on anti-aircraft artillery systems, counter-drone and other unmanned aerial vehicle systems, as well as electronic warfare (EW) and jamming assets (Czechoslovak Group and Aselsan will mount the Korkut anti-aircraft system on a Tatra chassis).
„The presentation of the Trident system at Eurosatory is proof of the continued development of our capabilities in the field of air defence. CSG Group has long demonstrated that it is able to execute complex international projects, integrate cutting-edge technologies from its own companies and foreign partners, and offer customers tailor-made solutions including financing, logistics and long-term support,” said Viktor Loužil, CSO at Excalibur International, which plays a main role within CSG group in the field of air defence systems.
A multi-layered air defense system as the result of international cooperation
Several companies from the CSG holding, as well as a traditional foreign partner, are involved in the production and integration of the Trident system. Excalibur International is the system’s architect and prime integrator, offering it to customers worldwide. Retia produces radars for the Trident system and also supplies the command and control system. Tatra Trucks supplies Tatra Force chassis platforms on which the individual system components are mounted. Tatra Defence is responsible for the development and production of armored cabs for Tatra Force platforms, superstructures, and surface-to-air missile launcher systems. Strategic cooperation partner Roketsan of Turkey supplies state-of-the-art short-, medium-, and long-range surface-to-air missiles and launchers.
This cooperation has resulted in a solution combining the Czech defense industry’s experience in vehicle platforms, radar technology, systems integration, and command and control systems with the missile technologies of the Turkish strategic partner. A similar cooperation model has already proven itself in previous Excalibur International projects, in which Czech companies supplied, among other things, radars and Tatra chassis, playing a key role in the system’s architecture and integration.
In its standard configuration, the Trident system employs various types of surface-to-air missiles with a range of up to 100 km, using imaging infrared (IIR) and active radar frequency (RF) seekers. This combination allows the system to create a multi-layered air defense solution against various target types and respond to the changing conditions and requirements of the modern battlefield.
A Trident system battery consists of several specialized vehicles on Tatra platforms. These include: a Fire Control Center (FCC) in the form of the modular ReCUBE platform; a Missile Launch Vehicle (MLV); a Missile Reload Vehicle (MRV); state-of-the-art mobile 3D AESA radars ReSAURION ‒ the RSB21 with a range of 200 km and the RSB41 with a range of 470 km; and a Maintenance Support Vehicle (MSV). In an expanded configuration, the Trident system can also be augmented with C-UAS elements for drone protection, such as the ReGUARD radar, artillery weapon systems with programmable ammunition, and C-UAS interceptor missiles ‒ miniature surface-to-air guided missiles designed for the kinetic defeat of hostile drones, thereby conserving the expensive surface-to-air missiles of the baseline configuration.
Mobile reconnaissance, command, control, and communications center
The core element of the Trident air defense system is the ReCUBE modular platform, developed and manufactured by Retia. ReCUBE is a mobile command, control, and communications center that provides integrated real-time control of Trident system sensors, such as radars and electro-optical search and targeting systems, and effectors, such as surface-to-air launch platforms and artillery weapon systems, via optical, radio, and ground data links.
ReCUBE integrates state-of-the-art air reconnaissance, command, control, and communications technologies. The platform supports both standard and classified operating modes and meets stringent electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements as well as protection against weapons of mass destruction (NBC). The ReCUBE platform’s architecture also enables its operational deployment not only within the Trident system, but also at other levels of the air defense system, both tactical and strategic.
Excalibur International’s business successes in air defense systems
Trident builds on Excalibur International’s many years of activity in the field of complex air defense systems. In recent years the company has achieved particular success in Southeast Asian markets, where it is executing large-scale air defense projects. This experience has translated into further contracts announced on April 7, 2026, when Excalibur International signed agreements in Southeast Asia worth nearly 2.5 billion USD (at the time 9.25 billion CZK) for the supply of several batteries of multi-layered air defense systems on Tatra chassis. The agreements cover not only the systems themselves but also comprehensive logistical support, personnel training, spare parts deliveries, auxiliary infrastructure, and the organization of export financing (Czechoslovak Group with an anti-aircraft contract worth 2.5 billion USD).
At Eurosatory 2026, CSG and its partners introduced Trident, a new multi-layered air defence system designed to protect against a broad spectrum of aerial threats.
Read more in the full press release: https://t.co/8fPfjzRffK pic.twitter.com/DQ8kdxAlhp
— CSG (@CSG_global) June 16, 2026
See also: