France. 1 February 2023. The French defence minister Sébastien Lecornu and his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Reznikov met at the Thales site in Limours, south of Paris, a centre of excellence for air defence in Europe, to sign a contract for the delivery of a complete short-range air defence system, including a Ground Master 200 radar, to help protect Ukraine.
As a recognised European leader in systems-of-systems integration, Thales draws on its air defence expertise to help nations guarantee their sovereignty and protect their citizens and territorial interests. Thales’s air defence technologies provide protection from all types of air threats at all levels of the airspace and cover the entire decision-making chain, from detection and identification to neutralisation.
Supporting Ukraine’s air defences
The contract signed by the Ukrainian defence ministry, the French defence ministry and Thales covers the delivery of a complete short-range air defence systems, including a GM200 radar, a command-and-control centre, a radio communications system and air target designators. The visit to Limours by the two defence ministers included a tour of Thales’s military radar design, production and support facilities.
Today, Thales’s Limours site is recognised as Europe’s largest centre of expertise in the field of air defence.
To keep populations and the armed forces safe, threats must be detected as early as possible whenever and wherever they arise – at sea, in the air or on land. To defeat modern threats, which are more discreet, more manoeuvrable and faster than ever, air defence systems must be capable of detecting and tracking any type of target and providing actionable data on objects in motion in the air, on land or on the surface of the sea. Thales has long-standing expertise in every aspect of air defence, from drone countermeasures to anti-ballistic missile defence: surface radars, airborne radars, command centres, communication systems and equipment, and different types of effectors.
The GM200 and the other surface radars in the Ground Master family offer an effective response to the types of threats faced by Ukraine, which include drones and long-range threats such as cruise missiles, helicopters and combat aircraft. As a recognised European leader in systems integration, Thales has the capability to integrate air defence systems-of-systems and to manage compatibility with other defences, which is a real advantage for users needing to deploy their assets quickly and efficiently.
“Thales is proud to be playing a part in the protection of Ukraine, in particular by providing air defence systems.”, said Patrice Caine, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer.
