NVK Iskra

NVK Iskra is a state-owned scientific and production complex in Zaporizhzhia, part of Ukraine’s defence conglomerate Ukroboronprom . Tracing its origins to a Soviet-era design bureau and plant established in 1959, it has become one of Ukraine’s principal developers of military radar — air-surveillance, counter-battery and fire-control systems built and maintained domestically.

Its air-surveillance line is the part most relevant to the drone war. The 90K6E is a mobile, 360-degree 3D radar with a solid-state transmitter that Shephard Media reports was validated in testing against small targets — picking up a Raybird-class tactical UAV at altitude — and is described as effective against low radar-cross-section drones at low, medium and high altitudes. The larger 80K6T is a 3D air-surveillance radar built to track many targets at long range, including low-flying threats. Iskra also produces the 80K6KS1 “Phoenix-1” 3D radar, which Ukrainian defence reporting says was adopted by the Armed Forces.

As a state enterprise, Iskra differs from the wave of private wartime startups that supply Ukraine’s units directly; it sits in the established defence-industrial base, with reporting noting both domestic fielding and interest from export customers. Its radars provide the detection backbone that smaller counter-drone makers’ jammers and interceptors depend on.