Satellite images show a giant radar in Kaliningrad

Satellite images show Russia building a large radar installation in the Kaliningrad exclave, between 32 and 37 kilometres from the Polish border, depending on the source. Three antenna arrays, each about 500 metres long, stand near the town of Gvardeysk, in a region that borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania. Whether the radar already works is unclear.

What the images show

The finding comes from a German newspaper report of 19 October that used satellite imagery from the Finnish-Polish company ICEYE, taken in late August 2026. The site is believed to be part of Russia’s system of over-the-horizon radars, which bounce signals off the upper atmosphere to see far beyond the line of sight.

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A Polish defence outlet identifies it as probably a 29B6 “Kontener” system, with construction under way since March 2023 and the three arrays arranged in a star shape. The ICEYE analysis also counted more than 20 signals intelligence and electronic warfare sites across the exclave.

How far it could see

Published range estimates run from about 885 to about 3,220 kilometres, depending on the parameters assumed. These estimates are based on the specifications of the system type.

Radars of this class mainly detect ballistic missiles and can also track stealth aircraft such as the F-35, the same analysis says. Russia claims the Kontener can follow up to 10,000 air objects at once. That claim is Russia’s own and the sources do not test it.

A second site and a wider belt

A separate circular antenna array in the Chernyakhovsk district was documented in 2025 by the open-source project Tochnyi, with a diameter of up to 1,600 metres. Its analysts say the largest antenna sets look suited to very low frequency transmission, which can reach submarines. Its purpose is described as not fully known, and it is probably linked to the Gvardeysk project. No source settles whether these are one facility or two.

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Around them sits a growing electronic warfare presence. Lithuanian official Darius Kuliešius has said Russia increased its GPS spoofing antennas in Kaliningrad from three at the start of 2025 to 36 now, with interference reaching up to 450 kilometres into Europe. He did not say how he arrived at that figure.

What is still open

It is not clear whether the radar is operational, and the distance to the Polish border changes from one report to the next. Everything else, from the range to the purpose, rests on estimates drawn from images of antennas in a field.