Ukraine’s HIMERA battlefield communications system has completed two weeks of field trials with troops in Portugal, in a test the Kyiv-based company says showed its radios can hold a steady link across 11 kilometres and pass targeting data to artillery.
The trials took place during ARTEX 2026, the Portuguese Army’s annual technology exercise, at the Santa Margarida Military Training Area in central Portugal from late September into October. This year’s exercise ran together with HEDI OPEX, the European Defence Agency’s field-testing campaign for emerging military technology.
FAKTA
- The system: HIMERA G1 PRO handheld radios with B1 and R1 repeaters, built to keep working under heavy electronic jamming.
- The test: Two weeks at ARTEX 2026 in Santa Margarida — standalone technical checks first, then tactical exercises with a mechanised infantry unit.
- The headline result: The company says its repeaters held a stable link over about 11 kilometres and carried coordinates for artillery fire correction.
- The company: HIMERA was founded in Kyiv in 2022, after Russia’s full-scale invasion. Its radios use AES-256 encryption, frequency hopping and mesh networking.
- The wider project: HIMERA and Denmark’s GomSpace launched the OBRIA NANO test satellite on 1 October 2026 aboard a SpaceX Transporter-18 mission, a first step towards an independent Ukrainian communications network.
- The caveat: The results come from the company itself. They have not been independently verified, and the Portuguese Army has not published its own assessment.
How the trials ran
Military teams first inspected the equipment on its own, then put it to work in tactical exercises alongside a mechanised infantry unit.
Soldiers used the G1 PRO handsets and the repeaters to keep tactical radio networks running through the exercises. According to HIMERA, it carried coordinates for artillery fire correction and kept communications running for every user on the networks. The company says troops learned the devices quickly and gave positive feedback, with some keen to use them in their own units.
Why secure radios matter for Ukraine
For Ukraine’s armed forces, reliable battlefield communications are a frontline necessity. Russian forces heavily jam radio links, and HIMERA’s equipment was designed for exactly that environment, with mesh networking letting each radio pass messages along for the others.
The trials also point to a broader push for communications Ukraine controls itself. HIMERA is also working with GomSpace on the OBRIA project, whose first test satellite went into orbit on 1 October 2026. The aim is a future network under Ukrainian control, less reliant on foreign satellite services disrupted during the war. For more international coverage, visit Watan News.
What is not yet confirmed
The Portugal results, as reported, come from HIMERA itself, and independent confirmation is still missing. The Portuguese Army has not released its own findings from the exercise, so the trials are best read as a promising demonstration rather than a procurement decision. Whether other European armies follow suit and take the system into service will be the real test of HIMERA’s pitch.
