ThalesRaytheonSystems’ Ground Master radars will boost France’s airspace surveillance capability

ThalesRaytheonSystems has been awarded a contract by the DGA, the French defense procurement agency, to supply the French armed forces with 12 fixed Ground Master 400 radars and 4 mobile tactical Ground Master 200 radars. In addition to delivery and through-life support of the radars, the contract awarded on 8 December includes installation and civil engineering work for the 12 Ground Master 400 radars.

This contract is part of the SCCOA* air command and control program for which ThalesRaytheonSystems is the main supplier. France has already acquired Ground Master radars for its military bases in Kourou, Nice and Lyon. The radar in Kourou, the first of its kind to enter operational service in France, was inaugurated on 27 November 2014.

Like the other Ground Master radars already integrated within SCCOA, the new radars will be coupled with the NATO ACCS**. They will thus provide airspace monitoring, a high-priority mission under the country's Permanent Security Posture (PSP), and ground-based air defense detection.
Jérôme Bendell, Chief Executive Officer of ThalesRaytheonSystems France, said: “ThalesRaytheonSystems is proud to be contributing with its Ground Master radars to the modernization of France’s air surveillance capability, which is already underway with the delivery of these latestgeneration radars for the bases in Kourou, Nice and Lyon.”

The Ground Master 400 and Ground Master 200 belong to the family of 3D air defense radars built by Thales. The Ground Master range of fully digital, multi-role air defense radars is dedicated to airspace surveillance and the protection of key assets and expeditionary forces. These systems are specifically designed to deliver high detection performance, high operational availability, excellent mobility and simplified maintenance. They are able to detect a vast array of modern threats such as UAVs from very low to very high altitude. More than 80 Ground Master radars have been sold around the world.