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SPO-15 RWR

SPO-15 "Beryoza" Radar Warning Receiver

The SPO-15LM "Beryoza" is a Soviet/Russian radar warning receiver (RWR) introduced in the early 1980s as a successor to the earlier SPO-10 system. Developed by TsKBA and widely installed on fighters such as the MiG-29, Su-27, and later Russian combat aircraft, it provides situational awareness against enemy radars by detecting and identifying the direction and type of threat emitters.

The system uses a circular arrangement of indicator lights to display the bearing of incoming radar signals relative to the aircraft’s nose. Different symbols and tones inform the pilot whether the threat radar is searching, tracking, or launching a missile. This made the SPO-15 one of the most iconic Soviet avionics systems of the Cold War, comparable in importance to Western ALR-series RWRs.

Although modern Russian jets such as the Su-57 employ more advanced electronic warfare suites, the SPO-15 remains in service on upgraded legacy aircraft and continues to be modeled in simulators due to its historical significance and straightforward presentation of threats.

SPO-15, Beryoza, RWR, Radar Warning Receiver, MiG-25MLD, MiG-29, MiG-31, Su-25, Su-27, Soviet avionics, Russian EW.

Due to Radar Detector limitations, there was made decision to use radar to identify threats and Radar Detector to identify whether the plane is being Pinged, Tracked or Locked by radar, the last one meaning there's a high chance of missile incoming.

Primary threats are identified by their altitude and distance from the plane. Threats flying higher than the set AGL (m) are identified as Airborne, and the closest airborne threat is set as primary. When there is no Airborne threat, closest threat is set as primary.

On composite output SPO-15 data you get the bearing, distance and altitude, and detected radar signal type. That data can be used then by another MC to drop chaff only when there's a closing in distance target with radar lock.

On composite input TGT data can be used any radar microcontroller as long as it outputs following data:
num 1: TGT x, 2: TGT y, 3: TGT z (altitude), 4: TGT ID, Repeat until channel 24

Autochaff modes explained:
- Regular: detects radar -> launch chaff
- Smart: detects radar + checks for speed -> launch chaff

22 September 2025 – Added automatic smart threat approach chaff system.

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MumenR's HMD V3 compatible