Military Embedded Systems

Thales Group contracted to upgrade Swiss Air Force master radars

News

January 23, 2017

Lisa Daigle

Assistant Managing Editor

Military Embedded Systems

Image courtesy Switzerland Dept. of Defense

LA DEFENSE, Paris, France. The procurement organization for Switzerland's armaments, known as armasuisse, has awarded Thales Group the contract to upgrade the master radars for the Swiss Air Force. The agreement, which amounts to 74 million euros (approx. $79.5 million) is intended to extend the lifespan of the radars and ensure the systems' continued operation until 2030.

The work will take place under the Swiss Air Force's "FLORAKO" air-defense radar program. Under the contract, Thales engineering teams will develop new radar-signal and data-processing routines and upgrade the antenna system, while integration teams will carry out  testing and qualification phases. The upgraded radars will be delivered to the Swiss Air Force one by one as soon as performance has been successfully verified.