Thales has signed on 8 December 2023 a letter of award for the supply of a GM400Alpha long range radar delivered with a complete station infrastructure to the Royal Malaysian Air Force, in the presence of the Ministers of Defence of both Malaysia and France. The award follows successful live testing, demonstrating the new GM400Alpha radars performance to augment air surveillance and air defense capabilities. With 5 times more processing power, an increase in instrumented range of more than 10% (515km) and advanced artificial intelligence capabilities, the radar provides extended air surveillance capabilities. A field-proven radar globally recognised for its technological superiority, the GM400Alpha is deployed in more than 20 nations and will provide the Royal Malaysian Air Force superior situational awareness.
“We are thrilled that Thales’ GM400Alpha radar is selected by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) to be a strategic asset of Malaysia’s air defence and surveillance systems. This contract is a strong testament to Thales’ leadership in the radar domain and marks a new milestone in the ongoing success story started in 2009 when Malaysia became the launch customer of the predecessor radar, the GM400. This new contract reinforces the defence cooperation between France and Malaysia. With historic deep roots in Malaysia, a strong local installed base, Thales is proud to strengthen Malaysia’s air sovereignty,” says François-Xavier Boutes, Country Director, Malaysia, Thales.
Given the multitude of threats and conflicts in constant evolution, building a reliable, accurate, up-to-date Recognized Air Picture (RAP) the GM400Alpha meets the challenges to maintain airspace sovereignty, providing superior situational awareness at all times. Leveraging on years of successful field experience, GaN technology and surveillance capabilities, the GM400Alpha detects simultaneously targets from fast jets and missiles, to hovering helicopters and UAVs, flying close to the ground, hiding in the clutter near the radar. In addition, the radar maintains the highest level of mobility and availability performance on the market.Thales will deliver a complete radar station, including building, access road, energy, air conditioning, telecommunications, radome and all the associated logistics.
A software-defined 3D air surveillance radar, the GM400Alpha by design provides C2 centres with superior situational awareness at all times. With an update rate of 6 seconds and an elevation coverage of up to 40°, it can continuously scan the airspace simultaneously detecting all types of high, medium and low altitude targets. Once detected, classification of targets as friend or foe is crucial in order to avoid fratricide fire. GM400Alpha fused interrogation mode 5 enables quick Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) providing C2 centres with optimum response time and complete peace of mind. Designed to offer unprecedented deployability and survivability, the GM400Alpha fits into a compact 20ft container, complete with a lifting system and, can be mounted on a truck and redeployed in less than one hour. Radar operators can also use the decoys fitted on the radar to ensure the highest possible survivability potential for long-range radars.
