DSEI 2025: Robin Radar’s IRIS – Small but Capable
IRIS is a lightweight Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave radar from Robin Radar Systems. At DSEI 2025,OVD had the opportunity to speak to Marcel Verdonk, Robin Radar Systems CCO, about the company’s latest upgrades to IRIS and its work in Ukraine.
IRIS is a small, lightweight, system which can be integrated with a range of systems and command and control networks. It weighs just 29kg and has a pair of 12w radars which can detect small drones at ranges of 5-12km. Robin Radar Systems have a significant number of IRIS system in Ukraine, at the time of writing, with funding coming from the Dutch government as well as other European partners. Ukraine integrates IRIS into their kill chain enabling detection and engagement of small (1.5kg) and medium sized drones (3kg). They provide situational awareness, detecting and tracking Russian long-range one-way munition attacks and feed into Ukraine’s command and control systems.
A recent software update which introduces a new processing mode, Verdonk described this as ‘tuning the lens’ to enhance the capabilities of the system. In Ukraine the systems are often on the move, typically vehicle or trailer-mounted to minimise the threat of detection and to cover as much ground as needed.
Mr Verdonk explained that the company can rapidly manufacture the systems. IRIS has been deployed outside of Ukraine too with numerous NATO member states acquiring IRIS for testing and operational use. Some units were deployed in France during the recent Paris Olympics.
Over the last 2 to 3 years Robin Radar Systems have ramped production of IRIS from 25 systems per year in 2021 to six per week in 2025. The company, however, are naturally weary of over-expanding and have been careful to balance meeting demand and investing in the necessary infrastructure and staff needed to reach current production levels. Further long-term contracts from partner nations would provide security and allow further expansion of production capacity.
IRIS provides Command and Control systems with a full dataset and can use commercial (such as Asterix) or mil-spec (such as Sapient) protocols. As a part of systems of systems IRIS is a valuaable detection, classification and tracking tool which can be deployed in under 15 minutes and can be paired with multiple units and other detection assets to provide a detailed situational awareness picture to a variety of command and control apparatus.