Overview  |  Description  |  Technical card  |  Industrial card  |  Equipment and ammunition  |  Countries equipped  |  Cooperation

France, the United Kingdom and Germany launched the Cobra programme in 1998 with a view to equipping field artillery with a counter-battery radar. There is currently a pressing operational requirement, especially during multi-lateral operations, for intelligence gathering within a peacekeeping scenario and for counter-battery target acquisition.

Cobra tasks can be summarised as:

  The rapid and accurate location of enemy surface-to-surface weapon delivery systems (mortars, guns, rocket launchers) to complete the intelligence picture or for counter-battery purposes.
  Assistance in adjusting friendly fire.

Cobra is an outstanding programme that:

  Will offer operational users a system that not only meets their specifications (and that is up to now without equal) but costs less than initially envisaged,
  Has enabled the companies involved to rise to the development challenges and to get ahead in a field where export customers are beginning to show an interest in this type of equipment.

Finally, the three nations cooperating to produce the system are thereby equipping themselves with the means to deliver accurate and immediate return fire if attacked. This procurement therefore helps to strengthen the European armament structure.