Story ID: 381 Thales Ground Master
Ground Master Radar Notches a Century
By: David Donald
Caption: The 100th example of the Ground Master AESA air defense radar recently entered service with Morocco, which first selected the Thales radar in 2013.
Word Count: 247
At the end of July, Thales delivered a Ground Master 400 air defense radar to the Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF). In September—following a site acceptance test—the system became the 100th radar from the Ground Master family to be deployed. It delivered the first radar in 2010.

Demand for airspace protection has increased significantly in recent years, especially as the nature of threats has expanded to include hypersonic and theater ballistic missiles, and unmanned air vehicles. The latter offer a significant challenge due to their ability to be employed at low speeds and altitudes and in coordinated swarm attacks.

Thales developed the Ground Master family to meet medium- and long-range detection requirements. The radars are packaged into 20-foot self-lifting containers that can rapidly redeploy to meet operational requirements. There is also an option for fixed installation as part of a permanent air surveillance network.

Offering detection ranges of at least 500 km (270 nm) in the latest version of the long-range GM400, the Ground Master family is constantly evolving thanks to its digital architecture, which allows the implementation of new functions and algorithms. A recent example is a feature that mitigates the effects of wind turbines.

The GM400 is partnered by the medium-range GM200 and has recently been joined by the Ground Master 60, a vehicle-mounted short-range tactical radar for land forces protection. Sales of the Ground Master family have been strong, with 24 radars sold in the last calendar year.