ThalesRaytheonSystems To Supply Germany Air Defense Radars

BY ADMIN
PARIS - ThalesRaytheonSystems (TRS) on Dec. 16 signed a contract worth 100 million euros ($133 million) with the German BWB defense procurement office to supply six GM 400 air defense radars, said a senior executive of the joint venture company.
"We're very proud to have won this in a competitive environment," Philippe Duhamel, CEO French Operations at ThalesRaytheonSystems, said Dec. 17. Duhamel heads the French side of the joint venture. "The BWB is a very demanding customer," he said.

TRS teamed with Thales Deutschland, Serco and EADS to pitch the Ground Master 400 digital 3D radar system in the BWB tender. EADS will supply the identification friend-or-foe module for the German contract.
TRS was bidding against Elta, the Israeli radar maker, which had teamed with German partner OHB.
Under the contract, which covers delivery and installation, a first delivery is due in 2013 and the last in 2015. The GM 400 units will replace older radars to provide the German Air Force with a national air surveillance system.
The GM400 offers high-, medium- and low-altitude detection and high reliability, with a claimed rate of mean time between critical failures that is double that of competitor systems, Duhamel said.
The six radars will be built at the Thales Limours plant, 30 kilometers south of the French capital.
TRS is involved in about 10 radar bids in various stages worldwide, Duhamel said.
The BWB Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement launched the tender for new air defense radars about two years ago. Other countries that have bought the GM 400 are France, Estonia, Finland, Malaysia and Slovenia. TRS has sold 24 GM 400 systems.