French manufacturer Thales said today that Ireland’s procurement of five company-made Ground Master long and shorter range radars, will “be instrumental” to Dublin developing what it calls a “first fully Recognised Air Picture.”
The firm’s assessment, laid out in a company statement, comes weeks after the Irish Department of Defence announced the order with France’s military procurement arm, Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA).
The militarily neutral nation is acquiring four Ground Master 400 Alpha (GM400a) sensors and one Ground Master 200 Multi-Mission All-in-one (GM200 MM/A) system, as it looks to build out a primary radar capability — a top priority listed by the 2022 Commission on Defence Forces report. The document, which drew on national defense force limitations, made a series of recommendations aimed at strengthening long term planning and modernization.
by Tim Martin/Breaking Defense – Long-range radar deal puts Ireland on course to shrink capability gap
