What the satellite images show

Satellite images from the Polish-Finnish company Iceye, first analysed by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), show a fenced radar complex under construction near Gvardeysk in Russia's Kaliningrad exclave. Three antenna arms, each more than 500 metres long, run out from a common centre in a star shape. Forsal reports that building at the site began in March 2023. Distance to the Polish border varies by outlet, from about 30 km to 37 km, while Lithuania is roughly 64 to 65 km away. Separately, an antenna array shaped like a ring more than 1,600 metres across has gone up near Chernyakhovsk since March 2023, and its purpose is not known.

Reported range and purpose

Reports based on FAZ put the detection range at 900 to 3,000 km. A Czech report gives 885 to 3,220 km and an Italian one gives 800 to 3,000 km, so the figures differ by source. Over-the-horizon systems send radio waves that bounce off the upper atmosphere and return to the ground far beyond the line of sight, which lets them track objects that conventional radars cannot see. Experts cited in the reports say such a system could pick up aircraft, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and warships, including stealth aircraft. Iceye's assessment, as FAZ relays it, sets out what the combined installations could do:

“Together they give Russia a range of options for monitoring activity across the entire region, from intercepting satellite communications to detecting aircraft movements and ballistic missiles.”

At those ranges, Poland, Germany, France and Britain would all fall inside the detection zone, according to the reports.

Electronic warfare footprint in Kaliningrad

According to The Times, Iceye reads the buildup as evidence that Kaliningrad is becoming a hub for advanced military sensors and electronic warfare systems. Those systems would be used primarily for reconnaissance and for jamming electronic signals. FAZ counts more than 20 signals intelligence and electronic warfare installations already in the exclave. The exclave also hosts the headquarters of the Russian Baltic Fleet, numerous air defence systems and missile units with nuclear-capable Iskander systems, according to the reports. From there, Russia could block the Suwałki corridor in a crisis, the narrow strip between Poland and Lithuania that links the Baltic NATO states to the rest of the alliance. Mobile networks in Lithuania near the exclave have reduced quality because of interference on some frequencies, most noticeably during Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia.

GPS interference across the region

Lithuanian official Darius Kuliešius, deputy head of the country's communications regulator, says Russia raised the number of GPS spoofing antennas from three at the start of 2025 to 36. Spoofing transmits false signals meant to confuse positioning systems, which disrupts ship and aircraft navigation. In May, Kuliešius told Reuters the jamming reaches up to 450 km from the exclave, though he did not explain how he arrived at that number. Estonia and Finland have also blamed Russia for GPS interference over the region. In 2025, a Spanish military aircraft carrying defence minister Margarita Robles recorded a GPS failure near Kaliningrad, and a plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was jammed on a flight to Bulgaria. Moscow denies the accusations.

Early 20253

Oct 202636

Early 2025

3 antennas

Oct 2026

36 antennas

Data from the article text

Reported timeline

The reports date the start of construction at Gvardeysk to March 2023, the same month work began on the Chernyakhovsk antenna array. Satellite images of the Gvardeysk complex and the Lithuanian figures became public in reports dated 20 October 2026.

Sources do not agree on distances, and the purpose of the Chernyakhovsk array is still unknown.