Thales to upgrade Swiss radars

Thales has been awarded a contract to upgrade the Swiss Air Force’s Master radars, the company announced on 18 January. The contract is valued at €74 million.

The radars are being modernised under Switzerland’s FLORAKO programme to extend their lifespan until 2030.

Thales will work with subcontractor RUAG on the 60 month programme to develop a new radar signal and data processing and upgrade the antenna system. Previous radar technologies will be leveraged to ensure the radars’ operational excellence within the existing infrastructure can be delivered. 

Following test and qualification, the upgraded radars will be delivered to the Swiss Air Force one by one as soon as their performance has been successfully verified. 

The radars form part of the Swiss Air Force’s air defence command and control system that has been fully operational since 2004.

Thomas Got, Thales VP in charge of military air operations and weapon systems, said: ‘We are proud that armasuisse has decided to renew its trust in Thales and award us with the sustainability contract for the Swiss Air Force radars until 2030. 

‘Our longstanding partnership, as part of the FLORAKO programme, with the armasuisse teams and the Swiss industrial and institutional environment is very important to us. We are fully committed to this partnership and are keen to meet the requirements and expectations of the Swiss armed forces.’