Thales technology to bolster Ukrainian air defence umbrella
The air defence system supplied by France to Ukraine will include a GM 200 radar. (Photo: Thales)
The Ukrainian and French defence ministers have signed an agreement for supply of a complete air defence system.
On 1 February French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu and his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Reznikov signed a contract for the supply of a complete short-range air defence system. The deal was signed at Thales' site in Limours near Paris.
The contract covers equipment including a GM200 radar, a command-and-control centre, a radio communications system and air target designators.
According to Thales, 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.
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'Thales is proud to be playing a part in the protection of Ukraine, in particular by providing air defence systems.' Patrice Caine, Thales' chairman and CEO said.
Customers for the GM200 include France, Georgia, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Singapore and the UAE. The configuration to be supplied to Ukraine was unspecified but the radar can be mounted on a 20ft ISO container or in compact form on the back of a 6x6 truck.
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