fire direction radar WM28

The WM28 fire-direction radar is a Dutch-designed weapon-locating and fire-control radar, developed by Hollandse Signaalapparaten (now Thales Nederland) during the late 1950s, with service introduction in the early 1960s. It was conceived as a mobile battlefield radar capable of tracking artillery shells, mortars, and rockets in flight and computing their trajectory to determine the firing position. Using mechanically scanned antenna technology typical of the period, the WM28 provided a significant leap in counter-battery capability for NATO forces at a time when indirect fire threats were becoming more prominent in Cold War doctrine.

Operationally, the WM28 was fielded by the Royal Netherlands Navy and exported to several NATO and allied countries, including Germany and other Western European operators, where it served throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s. Beyond locating enemy fire, the system was also used for artillery fire correction and range instrumentation, helping improve accuracy of friendly guns during training and combat exercises. Although later superseded by more compact, electronically scanned radars, the WM28 played an important historical role as one of the early practical fire-direction radars that helped define modern counter-battery warfare concepts still in use today.