Thales awarded radar electronic support measures systems contract

Thales has been awarded a contract from the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) of the Netherlands Ministry of Defence to supply APX* radar electronic support measures (RESM) systems to the navies of the Netherlands and Belgium. The contract, which is part of a wider modernisation agreement between the two navies, will supply four APX systems for the M-Class frigates.

The new APX system offers a low-risk, cost-effective and high-performance solution utilising a combination of the latest advanced analogue and digital receivers, with world- leading signal processing and identification algorithms. The APX system will provide significantly improved situational awareness, threat warning and intelligence gathering capabilities to these modern operational fleets. The technology originates from Thales UK’s Crawley facility.

Gerben Edelijn, Chief Executive Officer, Thales Nederland BV, says: “This contract will see Thales deliver a mature and flexible RESM solution to the Netherlands and Belgium navies, reinforcing the strong links between Thales and these two navies. Thales is committed to the success of the programme and is looking forward to working closely with both navies to deliver this capability.”

Thales was selected earlier this year to supply its Seastar and Gatekeeper sensors for the modernisation of the two multi-purpose M-class frigates of the Belgian Navy. The new sensors will be fitted alongside existing Thales equipment such as the SMART-S surveillance radar, the STIR weapon control radar, the LW08 search radar and the Goalkeeper close-in weapon system that already equip the M-class frigates.

– Ends –

Note to editors:
*APX notionally stands for Advanced Processing eXtensions. The APX solution is provided with the latest Digital Signal Processing solution, in the Digital Receivers, and the latest Data Processing Solutions in the Deinterleaving and Emitter Identification engines. However, the product name is APX.

About Thales
Thales is a global technology leader for the defence & security and the aerospace & transport markets. In 2009 the company generated revenues of £11.5 billion (€12.9 billion), with 68,000 employees in 50 countries. With its 22,500 engineers and researchers Thales has a unique capability to design, develop and deploy equipment, systems and services that meet the most complex security requirements. Thales has an exceptional international footprint, with operations around the world working with customers as local partners.