Kopáč was an early electronic warfare support measures

Electronic warfare support measures

In military telecommunications, the terms Electronic Support or Electronic Support Measures describe the division of electronic warfare involving actions taken under direct control of an operational commander to detect, intercept, identify, locate, record, and/or analyze sources of radiated...

 (ESM) system developed in Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 in the early 1960s that used measurements of time difference of arrival (TDOA) of pulses at three sites to accurately detect and track airborne emitters. The system used the principle of multilateration

Multilateration

Multilateration is a navigation technique based on the measurement of the difference in distance to two or more stations at known locations that broadcast signals at known times. Unlike measurements of absolute distance or angle, measuring the difference in distance results in an infinite number of...

 and was capable of simultaneously manually tracking up to six targets. It was first deployed in 1963 and was also known by its serial number, PRP-1. The initials PRP come from the Czech "Přesný radiotechnický pátrač", meaning "Accurate Radiotechnical Locator", the name comes from "Korelační pátrač", meaning "Correlation Locator".

The concept was derived by Vlastimil Pech and patented in Czechoslovak classified patent 771 on November 13, 1961. Subsequent related patents 830, 852 and 859 were filed by Vladimír Zárybnický in 1962. The system used analogue signal processing and operated in D

D band

IEEE D band is the range of radio frequencies from 110 GHz to 170 GHz in the electromagnetic spectrum. This is equal to wave lengths between 1.8 mm and 2.7 mm...

, G

G band

-NATO G band:The G band in the modern sense is the range of radio frequencies from 4 GHz to 6 GHz in the electromagnetic spectrum. This is equal to wave lengths between 7.5 cm and 5 cm...

\H

H band

H band can refer to two different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, in the radio and near-infrared.-Radio:The H band is the range of radio frequencies from 6 GHz to 8 GHz in the electromagnetic spectrum. This is equal to wave lengths between 5 cm and 3.75 cm...

 and I

I band

The I band is the range of radio frequencies from 8 GHz to 10 GHz in the electromagnetic spectrum. This is equal to wave lengths between 3.75 cm and 3 cm. The I band is in the SHF range of the radio spectrum....

\J band

J band

J band can refer to two different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, in the radio and near-infrared.-Radio:The J band is the range of radio frequencies from 10 GHz to 20 GHz in the electromagnetic spectrum. This is equal to wave lengths between...

s, as well as specifically against IFF

Identification friend or foe

In telecommunications, identification, friend or foe is an identification system designed for command and control. It is a system that enables military and national interrogation systems to identify aircraft, vehicles, or forces as friendly and to determine their bearing and range from the...

 and TACAN transponders at 1090 MHz.

It remained in service with the Czechoslovak People's Army until 1979.

See also

• ELINT\ESM
• Ramona
  Ramona passive sensor
  Ramona was the second generation Czechoslovakian electronic support measures system that uses measurements of time difference of arrival of pulses at three or four sites to accurately detect and track airborne emitters by multilateration.-History:...
  
   – the second generation Czech ESM TDOA system
• Tamara
  Tamara passive sensor
  Tamara was the third generation Czechoslovak electronic support measures system that used measurements of time difference of arrival of pulses at three or four sites to accurately detect and track airborne emitters by multilateration. Tamara's serial numbers were KRTP-86 and KRTP-91 and it...
  
   – the third generation Czech ESM TDOA system
• VERA
  VERA passive sensor
  VERA -VERA passive radiolocator is an electronic support measures system that uses measurements of time difference of arrival of pulses at three or four sites to accurately detect and track airborne emitters....
  
   – the current and fourth generation Czech ESM TDOA system
• Kolchuga – a similar system developed in Ukraine

Literature

• Jiří Hofman, Jan Bauer: Tajemství radiotechnického pátrače Tamara [The Secret of Radiotechnical Sensor Tamara], 2003, ISBN 80-86645-02-9, in Czech language. Describes three generations of the sensors: PRP 1 (Kopáč, 1964), Ramona
  Ramona passive sensor
  Ramona was the second generation Czechoslovakian electronic support measures system that uses measurements of time difference of arrival of pulses at three or four sites to accurately detect and track airborne emitters by multilateration.-History:...
  
   (1979) and Tamara
  Tamara passive sensor
  Tamara was the third generation Czechoslovak electronic support measures system that used measurements of time difference of arrival of pulses at three or four sites to accurately detect and track airborne emitters by multilateration. Tamara's serial numbers were KRTP-86 and KRTP-91 and it...
  
  (1989). Jiří Hofman worked in the development of the sensors.