An advanced tactical radio device called TAKRAD, manufactured by Croatian companies in line with the highest NATO standards, was presented at a tactical demonstration exercise of a Croatian Army mechanised platoon in the central Croatian town of Petrinja on Monday.

RIZ – Profesionalna elektronika d.o.o. developed the hardware for the device, and the Impel Group d.o.o equipped it with software. The device was devised with the support of and in cooperation with the Defence Ministry and the Croatian Armed Forces.

The demonstration exercise was attended by Defence Minister Mario Banozic and Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff Robert Hranj and their associates.

“Apart from the two companies, components for the radio device were manufactured by five other Croatian companies so this is a 100% Croatian product. Compared to similar devices so far, it has significant advantages. We are not talking just about the price but about maintenance and further development,” Banozic said.

The minister added that the land forces would be the first to be equipped with the new device, after which other branches of the armed forces would be equipped with it.

Brigadier Vedran Vejic of the Defence Ministry, who was involved in the project to develop the device, said that TAKRAD was adapted to NATO standards, primarily operating in NATO military radio frequencies and was a software-defined radio device, meaning that it can be adapted to any situation without changes to the hardware and enables interoperability with allied forces in possible NATO-led operations.

Brigadier Robert Topcic said that the testing of the device would continue for the next two months to define technical-tactical requirements before a major delivery to the Armed Forces.

The device, developed in a mobile and hand-held version, will be gradually introduced in Croatian Army units, and this year alone, around €2.6 million will be spent on it.

It is small, hand-held like a cell phone, very robust and has top protection.

TAKRAD uses the latest technologies and is not inferior to similar advanced devices made by renowned world manufacturers, and in some segments, it performs better, as confirmed by comparative tests.

It will be sold on the global market of communications radio devices and it offers much more for the same or lower price (€6,300), it was said.

In addition to communication, TAKRAD provides detailed information about the position and physical state of the soldier and automatically recognises dangerous situations which it communicates through a protected channel. It is equipped with various phone combinations, a large-capacity battery, different antennas and other equipment.