ThalesRaytheonSystems has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to supply Ground Master 400 (GM400) long-range air defense radars to the Kazakh Air Force. The agreement was signed at the KADEX defense exhibition in Astana, in the presence of Okas Bazargaliyevich Saparov, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Defense and the French Ambassador Francis Etienne.
This MoU provides for the development of GM400 radars for the Kazakh Air Force by Granit Thales Electronics, a joint venture formed by Thales and SKTB Granit in 2012 under a defense-industry partnership. 20 radars are expected to come from this cooperation.
The GM 400 systems are specifically designed to deliver high detection performance, high track accuracy, high operational availability and simplified maintenance as well as high mobility.
A first GM400 radar ordered by the Kazakh Air Force in 2013 was delivered recently and was shown at KADEX. This radar is designed for both fixed-site operation under a radome and for operations in the field, where it can be deployed in under two hours. Integration of the next radars in the series will take place at the Granit Thales Electronics facility outside Almaty in Kazakhstan as part of a technology transfer agreement.
“We are delighted to be able to exploit the operational advantages of this radar system, which will give Kazakhstan a long-range air surveillance capability and increase protection of our key assets,” said Okas Bazargaliyevich Saparov, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Defense.
“This memorandum of understanding between Granit, Thales and ThalesRaytheonSystems to supply GM400 radars illustrates the collaboration underway for several years now between us in Kazakhstan. The GM400s will boost Kazakhstan’s air defense capabilities, giving the Kazakh Air Force the ability to detect a broad array of threats from low to high altitude and thus assure extended air surveillance over its territory,” said Philippe Duhamel, CEO of ThalesRaytheonSystems.