French Thales has introduced the SkyDefender multi-layered air defense and missile defense system, which includes solutions already tested during the war in Ukraine. The company positions it as an integrated «dome» for protection against drones, aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles.
French Thales has introduced the SkyDefender multi-layered air defense and missile defense system, which includes solutions already tested during the war in Ukraine. The company positions it as an integrated «dome» for protection against drones, aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles.
According to Defense Express, Thales has built the new complex as a multi-layered architecture, where all elements are combined with the SkyView control system and supplemented with the cortAIx AI component. The company claims that such a scheme should provide unified control of short-, medium- and long-range weapons, as well as compatibility with NATO and allied systems.
The lower echelon of SkyDefender is closed by ForceShield, which is focused primarily on combating drones and other short-range threats. It includes the Ground Master 200 and ControlMaster 200 radars, as well as the RapidRanger, RapidFire, and Lightweight Multiple Launcher — Next Generation weapons. This segment is particularly interesting in the context of Ukraine, because some of the solutions integrated into it have already passed real combat tests.
The medium range in the concept is covered by the SAMP/T NG from Eurosam with the Ground Fire radar, which the developers promote as a component for countering, in particular, ballistic threats. The long-range level is formed by SMART-L MM and other early warning radars: Thales claims to detect individual targets at a distance of up to 5,000 km, and ballistic missiles at a distance of up to 2,000 km. Separately, the system also includes a space-based early warning component from Thales Alenia Space.
For Ukraine, the presentation of SkyDefender is important not only as another showcase of European air defense. In fact, Thales has gathered into one export circuit those solutions that are already used or are being prepared for deployment in a new type of war, where the main challenges are massive drone and missile attacks and the need for a single circuit of detection, tracking and interception.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how the French tech giant in the aerospace, defense, transport and security industries Thales signed three agreements with Ukrainian industry at the Eurosatory exhibition under the auspices of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine.
