Swedish defence company Saab’s Giraffe 1X is a ground-based three-dimensional air defence radar designed for short-range air surveillance.
The radar provides engagement-quality tracking, drone detection and counter rockets, artillery and mortar sense-and-warn in a single integrated system.
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It can act as the main sensor for very short-range air defence (VSHORAD), supplement wider ground-based architectures as a gap-filler or be deployed as a dedicated counter-uncrewed aircraft solution.
Saab introduced Giraffe 1X and the Sea Giraffe 1X variant in May 2014.
In September 2023, the company launched the Giraffe 1X Deployment Set, developed for easier transport, rapid redeployment and faster readiness, while retaining a small footprint and a search volume reaching up to 75km.
In June 2024, Saab presented a Compact Radar Module for the Giraffe 1X surface radar, conceived as an integrated all-in-one unit in which the antenna folds into the housing at the press of a button to support highly mobile operations.
Giraffe 1X surface radar design and features
Giraffe 1X is lightweight and suited to missions requiring persistent short-range air surveillance. The system weighs under 150kg, with the topside unit at around 100kg, and has low power requirements, simplifying integration on a wide range of vehicles or fixed sites.
The radar delivers continuous updates across the entire search area, supporting the detection of a wide range of airborne threats including small and slow aircraft and targets operating at high and low altitudes.
Giraffe 1X features a compact integration footprint, enabling it to be carried on a pick-up-sized vehicle, transported by helicopter, or towed on a trailer. It may be installed permanently on a building or mast or integrated onto an appropriate vehicle platform.
Operations and capabilities of Giraffe 1X
The Giraffe 1X surface radar features a Drone Tracker function intended to address evolving unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) threats by detecting and tracking small and mini drones while limiting false alarms.
It supports tasks such as airport airspace monitoring, close protection for manoeuvring forces, maritime support, critical infrastructure protection and wide-area drone surveillance.
The radar also has counter rocket, artillery and mortar capability, providing full 360° coverage alongside routine air surveillance, enabling the radar to handle multiple ballistic trajectories, identify firing points and estimate impact locations.
Across configurations, Giraffe 1X supports ‘Search on the Move’ using an inertial navigation system. The sensor stabilises in real time to maintain operation during travel or redeployment, allowing existing threats to remain tracked and new tracks to be initiated while moving.
Giraffe radar variants
The Giraffe family of radars also includes the Giraffe AMB and Giraffe 4A radars.
The Giraffe AMB radar supports short to medium-range ground-based air defence by combining a surveillance radar with integrated command, control and communications for mobile or fixed deployments, with remote or on-site operation.
It provides 360° surveillance against threats ranging from fast aircraft and cruise missiles to helicopters and low-flying UAVs, and it can also detect and warn of incoming rockets, artillery and mortar rounds.
The system uses a C-band radar and a scalable command-and-control suite housed in a self-contained 20ft ISO container, with a hydraulically operated mast that raises the antenna to 12m to improve low-altitude coverage.
The Giraffe 4A builds on Saab’s Arthur and Giraffe AMB heritage and introduces an Active Electronically Scanned Array-based sensor. It is intended for all-weather surveillance across targets, from low-signature UAVs to fast jets and supersonic missiles, while also supporting rockets, artillery and mortar threats and the detection and tracking of jammer strobes.
With an instrument range of up to 400km, it offers high accuracy and rapid refresh, including one-second revisits while maintaining continuous 360° coverage. It also features a sector mode that can increase the update rate to up to 8Hz when the threat direction is known.
The radar can be fielded as a permanent fixed installation or a mobile solution, with either remote or local control.
Orders and deliveries
Saab signed a contract in September 2017 to supply the Giraffe 1X surface radar system to an undisclosed customer.
In December 2022, Latvia’s Ministry of Defence ordered Giraffe 1X radars together with the RBS 70 NG ground-based air defence system.
In February 2023, Saab announced a framework agreement with an unnamed Western government covering several defence systems including Saab’s Carl-Gustaf multi-purpose weapon system, the RBS 70 NG and the Giraffe 1X radar, with an order value of Skr8bn ($767.4m).
In May 2023, Saab signed two contracts with the UK Ministry of Defence for 11 Giraffe 1X radars with support, valued at Skr264m.
In August 2024, Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) ordered Giraffe 1X for a Swedish ground-based air defence solution, covering a contract period between 2024 and 2027 and valued at around Skr700m ($66.6m).
The US Army awarded Saab a contract worth around $46m to provide Giraffe 1X radars for security cooperation partners, in the third quarter of 2025, with deliveries starting in 2026.
Saab received an order from FMV for sensors and command-and-control systems that include Giraffe 1X, valued at roughly Skr2.1bn, with deliveries planned for 2027 to 2028.
Furthermore, FMV signed a framework agreement in December 2025 that included an order valued at approximately Skr650m for immediate delivery of the Giraffe 1X system.
