A fully active phased-array Stratosphere Troposphere (ST) radar at 53 MHz is being established by University of Calcutta at Ionosphere Field Station (22.93 °N, 88.50 °E geographic; magnetic dip: 34 °N), Haringhata, near the northern crest of equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA). When completed, this will be a unique facility at this frequency in the eastern and north-eastern parts of India and also in the south-east Asian longitude sector. Initial results of ionospheric backscatter of irregularities observed at the range of 120–140 km during early evening hours to midnight of the months of May through June 2019 from a Pilot Array are presented in this paper. © 2021, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.