Thales SMART-L ELR in At Sea Demo
A prototype version of Thales’ SMART-L Extended Long Range (ELR) radar has demonstrated the ability to defend a naval vessel against a hostile outer-atmosphere ballistic missile during At Sea Demonstrations held off the coast of Scotland in October.
The sensor suite, installed on the Royal Netherlands Navy’s HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën frigate, succeeded in tracking the Terrier-Orion ballistic missile launched from the Scottish island Benbecula and travelling at 7000 km/h. The tracking information was sent through the NATO network to USS Ross. This ship intercepted the ballistic missile with a Standard Missile 3 (SM-3).
The SMART-L ELR radar will be installed on the Royal Netherlands Navy’s Air Defence and Command frigates (LCF) to enable the detection of targets at up to 1500km.
During the testing the frigate maintained its air defence capability, protecting the 10 ships in the squadron, at about 10km from each other, against incoming anti-ship missiles using its SM-2 and Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles. It used its Thales APAR multifunction radar in addition to the SMART-L ELR.
The demonstration was part of testing for NATO's plans for improved collective defences against ballistic missiles.
You may also like
More from Digital Battlespace
-
![AUSA 2025: Kopin pushes micro-LED plans as China moves faster]()
AUSA 2025: Kopin pushes micro-LED plans as China moves faster
The plan for the new displays follows fresh investment in Kopin’s European facilities by Theon and an order for head-up displays in fielded aircraft, with funding from the US Department of Defense.
-
![AUSA 2025: Persistent Systems to complete its largest order by year’s end]()
AUSA 2025: Persistent Systems to complete its largest order by year’s end
Persistent Systems received its largest ever single order for its MPU5 devices and other systems earlier this month and has already delivered the 50 units to the US Army’s 4th Infantry Division.
-
![Aselsan brings in dozens of companies and systems under the Steel Dome umbrella]()
Aselsan brings in dozens of companies and systems under the Steel Dome umbrella
Turkey has joined the family of countries attempting to establish a multilayered air defence system with government approval in August 2024 for the effort landed by Aselsan. Dubbed Steel Dome, the programme joins Israel’s Iron Dome, the US Golden Dome, India’s Mission Sudarshan Chakra and South Korea’s low-altitude missile defence system.
-
![DSEI 2025: MARSS unveils new agnostic multidomain C4 system]()
DSEI 2025: MARSS unveils new agnostic multidomain C4 system
MARSS’ NiDAR system has been deployed using sensors from static platforms to provide detection and protection for static sights, such as critical infrastructure, ports and military bases.
-
![Australia looks towards space with force restructure, investment and training]()
Australia looks towards space with force restructure, investment and training
Australia is looking to improve its presence in space with a focus on communications and creating a dedicated segment of its defence forces committed to the domain.
-
![EID to unveil new vehicle communication system at DSEI]()
EID to unveil new vehicle communication system at DSEI
The Portuguese company’s naval communications system is in service across more than a dozen countries. It has turned to its home nation for support in developing a new vehicle based C2 system.
