The 39N6 Kasta-2E2 is a Russian mobile 3D low-altitude air-surveillance radar in the Kasta family, intended to detect and track aircraft, helicopters, drones, and cruise missiles while feeding air-defense command networks. It is distinct from the older 35N6/51U6 Kasta-2E1 branch and has been documented as a Russian radar target in occupied Ukraine, Crimea, Zaporizhzhia, and southern Russia during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.
Russian forces have fielded Kasta-2E2 radars as air-defense surveillance assets during the war. Ukrainian military-intelligence reporting documents a February 2024 strike on a Russian Kasta-2E2 monitoring airspace near Kharkiv and Sumy, later GUR strike reports in occupied Crimea, and secondary reporting on additional Kasta-2E2 strikes near Yevpatoria, Anapa, and other Russian air-defense sites.
Role detailsThe Kasta-2E2 fills a sensor role rather than a firing role. Open radar references describe it as a mobile 3D low-altitude surveillance radar, and Rosoboronexport describes the related Casta-VME export radar as a decimeter-band system for air-defense, coastal-defense, border-control, air-traffic, and airfield airspace-control tasks.
Airspace monitoring, coordinate measurement, target tracking, identification support, and flight-information reporting for low-altitude air targets.
Aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aircraft, cruise missiles, and other low-flying air targets in cluttered terrain or passive-interference conditions.
Ukraine-war reporting treats Russian Kasta-2E2 radars as high-value surveillance nodes whose loss can degrade local air-defense awareness.
Kasta-family designations are easily conflated. This entry covers the later 39N6/39N6E Kasta-2E2 or Kasta-2-2 branch; the existing 35N6 record covers the older 51U6/Kasta-2E1 branch.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| 39N6 / Kasta-2-2 | Russian-service baseline designation | Russian-language references and open radar references identify 39N6 Kasta-2-2 as the domestic branch, with 39N6E Kasta-2E2 used for the export-marketed form. Sources: Radartutorial 39N6 Kasta-2E2 |
| 39N6E / Kasta-2E2 | Export designation | Archived Rosoboronexport material markets Kasta-2E2 as a low-altitude all-round 3D surveillance radar, while Radartutorial and Commons identify 39N6E as the Kasta-2E2 designation. Sources: Radartutorial 39N6 Kasta-2E2, Rosoboronexport Kasta-2E2 PDF |
 | Earlier Kasta-2E1 family branch | The older 35N6/51U6 Kasta-2E1 branch is a related Kasta-family radar, but open references distinguish it from the later 39N6/Kasta-2E2 system. Sources: Radartutorial 39N6 Kasta-2E2 |
Wikimedia Commons records CC BY-SA photographs of a 39N6E Kasta-2E2 radar taken at the 100th Anniversary of the Russian Air Force event.
Sources: Wikimedia Commons Kasta-2E2 Image 01, Wikimedia Commons Kasta-2E2 Image 02
UNITED24 Media reported that Ukrainian Special Operations Forces destroyed a Russian Kasta-2E2 radar after aerial reconnaissance located the mobile radar station.
Sources: UNITED24 Kasta-2E2 SSO Strike
Ukraine's military intelligence service reported that Prymary unit drones struck several Russian radar and air-defense systems in occupied Crimea, including a 39N6 Kasta-2E2.
Sources: GUR Prymary Crimea Air Defense Strikes
UNITED24 Media reported that a Kasta-2E2 radar near Khutir outside Yevpatoria in occupied Crimea was assessed as destroyed after a drone strike between August 6 and August 11.
Sources: UNITED24 Kasta-2E2 Crimea Strike
UNITED24 Media and Militarnyi reported satellite-image evidence that a Russian 39N6 Kasta-2E2 radar site near Anapa, Krasnodar Krai, had been struck in early September 2025.
Sources: UNITED24 Kasta-2E2 Anapa Strike, Militarnyi Kasta-2E2 Anapa Strike
Ukraine's military intelligence service reported February strikes on Russian air-defense elements in occupied Crimea, listing a disabled 39N6 Kasta-2E2 radar and publishing official video footage.
Sources: GUR February 2026 Crimea Kasta-2E2 Strike
Defense Express reported Ukrainian intelligence footage showing the destruction of a Russian Kasta-2E2 radar station and logistics targets across Crimea.
Sources: Defense Express Kasta-2E2 Crimea Strike
