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 on May 22 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 (photo).

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.

A first GM400 radar ordered by the Kazakh Air Force in 2013 was delivered recently and was on show 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 MoU 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.

The GM 400 is part of the ThalesRaytheonSystems family of fully digital 3D air defense radars. Since this latest-generation family of 3D air surveillance radars was launched, dozens of systems have been sold to Air Forces around the world. These systems are designed to deliver high detection performance, high track accuracy, high operational availability and simplified maintenance as well as high mobility.

ThalesRaytheonSystems is an international company specializing in air defense systems, command and control systems, 3D air defense radars, battlefield and counterbattery radars.

Since its inception in 2001, ThalesRaytheonSystems has become one of the defense industry’s most successful transatlantic joint ventures. The company is equally owned by Thales and Raytheon.