Pantsir Radar Signals in visible on Sentinel-1 (C-band) images across the frontline 

Remember the strong Radar signals seen on Sentinel-1 satellite images since 2025? They started on Crimea and then became more and more prominent across the whole frontline and later even in the ocean near Taiwan when China was conducting exercises. 

We assumed that the signals can have several causes: Detection, Jamming, Communication or a combination of these.

Now after several weeks of investigation, we found that the signals are always coming from a location, where we can also find Pantsir Air Defence systems on high resolution optical images. Furthermore they are always located on an artificial elevation.

Here are some examples from the Krymsk Air Base, Kursk/Khalino Air Base, and a bridge near St. Petersburg:

And they are definetly Pantsir-type systems, as this image from Khalino Air Base confirms:

The Pantsir system uses different frequencies: K-band, X-band, Ku-band, L-band, and S-band for different purposes, but officially no C-band. C-band is right in between the S and X-bands and is also used in other air defence systems, such as in the US-made Patriot system.

So the question now is, did the Russians upgrade the Pantsir to also use C-band Radars? Or are we seeing these signals from interferences of the other bands? And why are the signals so strong, we have never seen such strong signals from these or similar systems before, also not from Patriot systems.

Beside the actual outcome of this investigation, this was also a beautiful example of how ELINT and IMINT work together in real-life intelligence and military matters. In a first step we used ELINT and analysed the Radar signals to narrow down possible locations. Then in the second step we could look at high resolution optical images of these areas and find the Pantsir systems. It would have taken us forever, to look at the whole frontline small scale with high resolution images.