Yesterday marked the grand opening of the new production and administrative facility of ELDIS Pardubice, which is currently one of the leading Czech companies in the field of manufacturing and developing radar systems used in airspace as well as for military purposes.

ELDIS Pardubice was founded in July 1991 and, in part, continues the legacy of the renowned TESLA Pardubice, which was an industrial giant and the pride of the entire city. After its founding, ELDIS became a strong, competitive company, and in 2017 it became part of the Czechoslovak Group (CSG), specifically its CSG Aerospace division. The owner of the entire group is Czech billionaire Michal Strnad.

The company has been experiencing a major boom in recent years, so the 100-million-crown investment was a logical step in this regard. According to Vladimír Vojáček, the company’s CEO, “the investment in the new hall was necessary in view of further development and growth of production capacities.”

Construction of the new hall began in November 2024. During his speech, the CEO praised the fact that the hall was completed exactly on schedule and, at the same time, managed to be built for less money than originally expected.

The new investment will allow the company to increase its production capacity and thus gain new space for production, shipping, logistics, as well as development, administration, and training rooms. According to Vojáček, “the dominant feature of the new hall is undoubtedly the tower for the 3D radar antenna.” This model, designated RL-3000, represents a new generation of software-defined radars. The main innovation lies in the transition from 2D detection to full-fledged 3D tracking, which also includes the altitude parameters of targets.

“The radar’s ability to detect not only the distance and azimuth but also the altitude of a tracked target is essential for applications such as airspace surveillance, air traffic control support, air defense, and situational awareness systems, where information on target altitude is necessary for tracking aircraft, identifying potential threats, and supporting decision-making in the complex airspace environment.” This is how Tomáš Müller, Technical Director at ELDIS, describes the main benefit of 3D radar.

When asked by CZ DEFENCE about the significance of these radars for the company’s business strategy, Filip Vogel, Sales Director at ELDIS, replied that 3D radars are currently a new product and an addition to the traditional portfolio.

It is important for the company that the new facility includes a 25-meter tower, at the top of which the functionality of the new 3D radars will be tested. “At the top of the tower is a platform to which either an antenna system or the entire radar can be connected,” added Vogel, who noted that dozens of manufactured antennas and radars can be expected to be connected and rotated at the top of the tower each year.

The company’s updated RL-3000 portfolio is enjoying great success. While the company produced eleven radars in 2024, last year that number rose to more than twenty. Thanks to the new facility, further growth is expected, and the company is therefore seeking to fill dozens of job openings. However, it is competing for qualified employees with other defense and technology companies in Pardubice, such as ERA a.s. and RETIA, a.s., which, like ELDIS, is part of the Czechoslovak Group (CSG).

It is precisely for these reasons that ELDIS works closely with secondary schools and universities in Pardubice. “We have had a classroom equipped by us at the Secondary Technical School of Electrical Engineering in Pardubice for several years now; we regularly participate in career days and give lectures to third- and fourth-year students. At the same time, we are the general partner of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Pardubice (...) Students can take advantage of professional internships at our company, or we collaborate on their bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral theses,” states Pavlína Novotná, the company’s HR Director.

The newly unveiled building also ties into this initiative. “The new facility includes a specialized electrical engineering laboratory, which is also a secure space where we develop hardware and software and where we carry out our collaboration with technical universities,” said Vladimír Vojáček, CEO of ELDIS, during his speech.

ELDIS secures contracts from both civilian and military contractors. For example, it supplies the Czech Army with a special landing radar for military aircraft, enabling them to land even in adverse weather conditions. A significant milestone was last year’s victory in a tender by the Czech Air Traffic Control Authority. Its radars will now cover the entire airspace of the Czech Republic thanks to the construction of combined radars on the summit of Mount Písek in the Brdy Mountains and on Buchtův Hill in the Žďárské Hills in the Vysočina region. The project will be implemented between 2025 and 2029, and the contract is valued at 10.5 million euros.

In addition to contracts in the Czech Republic, the company has partners in more than 30 countries worldwide. The most significant of these is likely India, to which ELDIS has supplied enough radars to cover 99% of its airspace.

At the end of February 2025, a contract was also ceremoniously signed for the delivery and installation of five radars in Vietnam. The scope of the contract includes the delivery of radar systems, training for their operation, and installation at various locations throughout the country. Although this was not ELDIS’s first contract in this country, this contract has also become a symbol of the company’s expansion. With the new facility and the expected hiring of dozens more employees, further growth of this Pardubice-based company can be anticipated.