The technology group Thales announced on Friday the purchase by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense of a second comprehensive air defense system to "contribute to the protection of its territory" against the Russian army, "after the supply of a first air defense system to Ukraine in 2023, whose performance on the battlefield is recognized."
The amount of this purchase has not been specified, reports Le Monde.
"This second air defense system will strengthen the protection of Ukrainian territory by allowing the earliest possible detection of existing threats. Thales is proud to put its expertise at the service of the protection of Ukraine," said Hervé Dammann, deputy CEO in charge of land and air systems, quoted in the statement.
The signing of this contract was announced during the visit to France of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who came to attend, alongside his French and American counterparts, Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden, the ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the Allied landing in Normandy.
"This air defense system includes a ControlMaster 200 (CM 200) including a Ground Master 200 air surveillance radar, a radio communications system, a ControlView command and control (C2) center, as well as a portable weapons allocation terminal," detailed the French industrialist.
"The ControlMaster 200 detects and tracks simultaneously low and high-altitude targets in all types of environments," ensuring "the coordination of air defense weapons, from very short-range air defense (VShorad) to extended short-range air defense (E-Shorad)," Thales specified.
The Ground Master 200 radar is a medium-range radar, transportable on a truck, which can detect an enemy aircraft at 250 kilometers and engage it at 100 kilometers, whether flying at low speed and low altitude like drones, or at high altitude like combat aircraft. It also provides protection against rockets and artillery fire by alerting ground troops to enemy fire, according to its manufacturer.
