On Tuesday, 2 September 2025, the opening day of the 33rd International Defence Industry Exhibition MSPO in Kielce, the Armament Agency — acting on behalf of the Polish Ministry of National Defence — signed a contract worth 5.7 billion PLN with the PGZ-Narew Consortium for the delivery of 46 PET/PCL Passive Location System (PLS) sets, including 28 under the base order and 18 under the optional provision.
Photos: Polish Ministry Of National Defence
The agreement was signed in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, who stated that the radars will be produced by the PGZ Group. “This is Polish technological expertise, an investment in the Polish economy. These radars will significantly expand our ability to protect Polish airspace. They will be delivered in parallel with subsequent batteries of the Narew system,” he said.
The PGZ-Narew Consortium includes: Polish Armaments Group (PGZ – the leader), Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW), Jelcz, Mesko, the Naval Technology Center R&D Center (OBR CTM), PCO, PIT-Radwar, Military Communications Works No. 1, Military Armament Works, Military Electronic Works, and Zakłady Mechaniczne Tarnów.
The value of the base order (28 units) is approximately 3.9 billion PLN gross, while the optional order is valued at approximately 1.9 billion PLN gross. Deliveries are planned for 2030–2038. The radars procured under this agreement form part of the developing integrated, multi-layered air and missile defense system. Their technical and operational characteristics allow them to be used in both the Narew and Wisła systems. They therefore fully complement the existing and future detection and identification networks for air and missile defense.
“This radar contract is an investment in Poland’s security, but also in our economy. These radars will enhance the safety of our airspace, that is our priority. I want to thank everyone who contributed to this procurement, including Deputy Ministers Paweł Bejda and Stanisław Wziątek, as well as the Armament Agency and Polish Armaments Group,” the Minister of National Defence added.
✍️ #podpisane || Podczas #MSPO2025 podpisano umowę na dostawę 46 Radarów Pasywnej Lokacji PET/PCL dla programu #NAREW 🚀 28 w zamówieniu gwarantowanym + 18 w opcji. Radary umożliwią ciągły dozór przestrzeni i skuteczną obronę przeciwlotniczą oraz przeciwrakietową. pic.twitter.com/3abvAH11Uy
— Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa🇵🇱 (@PGZ_pl) September 2, 2025
The Passive Location System PET/PCL was developed by PIT-Radwar of Warsaw. Its development was co-funded by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) under Competition No. 3/2012 for scientific research and development projects supporting national defense and security (agreement No. DOBR/0043/R/ID1/2012/03 of 18 December 2012), titled Development of a Passive Radar System for Air-Defense Missile Systems (ZROP).
The project was carried out by a consortium consisting of PIT-Radwar (lead entity), the Warsaw University of Technology, and AM Technologies. The original R&D contract was valued at 45 million PLN (including 38.7 million PLN in NCBR funding), but was later amended, raising its value to 89.6 million PLN, of which as much as 80 million PLN came from NCBR (as the initial completion date had been set for 17 December 2016). The prototype, mounted on a Jelcz P882.53 8×8 chassis, was not completed until 2018. Qualification testing began in March 2022 and concluded on 15 December 2023.
The Passive Location System (SPL) is a globally innovative airspace-monitoring solution. It provides continuous airspace observation and target detection independently of active radar operation, while emitting no signals of its own, making it undetectable to hostile ESM systems.
SPL combines two passive subsystems: the PCL (Passive Coherent Location) subsystem and the PET (Passive Emitter Tracking) subsystem, enabling multistatic operation with coverage across a very wide frequency spectrum. The system consists of four Passive Location Radars, identical in both hardware and software. The key to the system’s high effectiveness is its fusion module, which merges bistatic plots from both subsystems.
The master station, on which data from all stations is fused, is selected in a way that ensures the highest possible detection and tracking quality, while maintaining optimal communications links with C2 systems.
The PCL subsystem uses signals emitted by non-cooperative transmitters such as FM radio, DVB-T, or GSM. These signals, scattered by airborne objects and received by individual stations, enable the detection and localization of those objects.
The PET subsystem, on the other hand, operates by detecting signals generated by onboard emitters of air targets, such as airborne radars, communication links, IFF transponders, and navigation systems. The combination of the PCL and PET subsystems, together with the use of the data-fusion module, results in higher detection probability, improved localization accuracy, more stable target tracking, and enhanced air-target classification through advanced signal analysis.
Photos: Armaments Agency
Wicepremier W. @KosiniakKamysz: Umowa na radary to inwestycja w polskie bezpieczeństwo ale także w naszą gospodarkę. Te radary zwiększą bezpieczeństwo naszej przestrzeni powietrznej. To dla nas priorytet. Dziękuję wszystkim, którzy pracowali na rzecz tego zamówienia. Dziękuję… pic.twitter.com/PRSuhID2NA
— Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej 🇵🇱 (@MON_GOV_PL) September 2, 2025
W obecności wicepremiera W. @KosiniakKamysz podpisano umowę dotyczącą dostawy 46 Radarów Pasywnej Lokacji PET/PCL, gdzie stronami umowy są Agencja Uzbrojenia oraz Konsorcjum PGZ-NAREW. pic.twitter.com/jhlzQlt8FP
— Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej 🇵🇱 (@MON_GOV_PL) September 2, 2025
