Tamara was the third generation Czechoslovak electronic support measures ( ESM) system that used measurements of

time difference of arrival Time of arrival (TOA or ToA) is the absolute time instant when a radio signal emanating from a transmitter reaches a remote receiver. The time span elapsed since the time of transmission (TOT or ToT) is the ''time of flight'' (TOF or ToF). Time diff ...

(TDOA) of pulses at three or four sites to accurately detect and track airborne emitters by multilateration. Tamara's designations were KRTP-86 and KRTP-91 and it carried the

NATO reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform man ...

of Trash Can. The designation was derived from the Czech phrase "Komplet Radiotechnického Průzkumu" meaning "Radiotechnical Reconnaissance Set". It was claimed to be the only one in the world able to detect military " invisible aircraft".

History

Development of Tamara by the state-run company Tesla in

Pardubice Pardubice (; german: Pardubitz) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 89,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monum ...

began in 1981 and continued until 1983. Tests of a mobile system began in September 1984 through to 1985. It was finally deployed in 1987 following acceptance tests in October of that year. In 1991 the baseline KRTP-86 Tamara was superseded in production by the improved KRTP-91 Tamara-M.

Appearance

Unlike its predecessors, Tamara was a mobile system deployed on eight large Tatra T815 trucks and mounted upon a powerful 25 m hydraulic mast. Setup was completely automated and claimed to be to be put into operation in twenty minutes from the arrival at a site.

Mode of operation

The deployed system typically comprises a central site (containing the signal processing equipment and an ESM receiver) and two or three side sites containing only an ESM receiver. The side sites relay the signals received to the central site over a point-to-point microwave link. The central site uses the known propagation delay from the side sites to estimate the TDOA of the pulses at each site. The TDOA of a pulse between one side site and the central site locates the target on a

hyperboloid In geometry, a hyperboloid of revolution, sometimes called a circular hyperboloid, is the surface generated by rotating a hyperbola around one of its principal axes. A hyperboloid is the surface obtained from a hyperboloid of revolution by def ...

. A second side site provides a second TDOA and hence a second hyperboloid. The intersection of these two hyperboloids places the target on a line, providing a 2D measurement of the target's location (no height). A third site provides a third hyperboloid and hence a measurement of height. Tamara could automatically track 23

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, Marine radar, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor v ...

and 48 IFF targets simultaneously. Its frequency band is 0.8-1.8 GHz. The nominal range of the system is 450 km, and it is generally limited by the

radio horizon Line-of-sight propagation is a characteristic of electromagnetic radiation or acoustic wave propagation which means waves travel in a direct path from the source to the receiver. Electromagnetic transmission includes light emissions traveling ...

. It provides surveillance over a sector of approximately 100 degrees, with the later KRTP-91 system offering a wider 120 degree sector of surveillance.

Exports

Tesla built a total of 23 units, with 15 KRTP-86 Tamara and 4 KRTP-91 Tamara-M units exported to the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, as well as a single KRTP-86 Tamara unit to the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

. The East German Tamara unit was used by the Bundeswehr after the German Reunification until 2010.

Related systems

Tamara was the successor of the Kopáč and Ramona. It has been succeeded by the

VERA Vera may refer to: Names * Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarr ...

family of sensors.

References

Literature

* Jiří Hofman, Jan Bauer: ''Tajemství radiotechnického pátrače Tamara'' /nowiki>''The Secret of Radiotechnical Sensor Tamara''/nowiki>, 2003, , in Czech. Describes three generations of the sensors: PRP 1 (1964), Ramona (1979) and Tamara (1989). Jiří Hofman worked in the development of the sensors.

External links

{{Commons category, Tamara passive sensor
Newspaper Article collection about Tamara
Radiofrequency receivers Military equipment of Czechoslovakia