oh like that..... its an uplink radar/center thing something perhaps like the one from the original C&C..... the one that gave you acces to the ionbeam and some other stuff. What was the name of that ?
How about we call it a Listening Post. We can then have there be some research to unlock "radar", which drops onto listening posts in much the same way as refs drop onto ref points. Thus, your LP would do research only, and your radar could do research AND radar-y-ness.
blueprint download center communication center nanite reprogramming center (for BE) RNA synthesis factory (for NF) and/or rename engy radar: field radar portable radar
If anything, the term "Research" needs to be changed to "Download" instead. This way the whole requiring the Radar to acquire tech will make a lot more sense.