Guess who buys the VERA-E?

Lol, the US.

JANE’S DEFENCE WEEKLY – OCTOBER 20, 2004

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Czech government clears sale of VERA-E to US
JIRI KOMINEK JDW Correspondent
Prague

The Czech government has approved clearance for the export of a single VERA-E passive surveillance system (PSS) to the US Department of Defense (DoD).

The DoD agreed to procure one VERA-E PSS for testing purposes as compensation for the US government’s intervention into the sale of six systems to China in February.

The Czech government agreed to a request from US Secretary of State Colin Powell not to issue an export licence to the maker of the VERA-E, Czech electronics house ERA, which had signed a contract with the Chinese government for the delivery of six radars.

Similar efforts by ERA to export the systems to Pakistan and Vietnam were also blocked by several Czech ministries, which must give their approval before an export licence is issued.

The US government was concerned that China would either re-export the sensitive technology to states such as Iran or Pakistan or use it to monitor US military forces operating in the Taiwan Strait.

The DoD has promised the Czech government that if testing of the VERA-E system proves successful it may place follow-on orders for additional systems.

Currently the Army of the Czech Republic is the only user of the VERA-E PSS. It has procured an undisclosed number of both static and mobile versions of the passive radar system since 1999.

‘Czech Republic shelves sale of VERA-E radar to China’ (JDW 2 June 2004)