Thales has equipped the Royal Danish Navy with its main radars, APAR, SMART-L and SMART-S. In Denmark, Thales designs and produces radars in all three domains; air, land and naval.
In the naval domain, Thales has successfully been equipping the Royal Danish Navy with the main radars and long range communications on its five latest vessels, a class of frigates and flexible support ships. These radars and radios are key functional elements for the ships’ operational capabilities and tasks. In 2017, a contract was made between Thales and the
Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization regarding the acquisition of Continuous Wave Illuminators (CWI). The illuminating transmitters will function as a support when using the Navy’s Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) self-defence missiles.
Besides the acquisition of the illuminating radars, the contract also includes a service agreement ensuring that the systems will be maintained and kept in operation. The systems, has been delivered as of 2019, will be installed on the Navy’s frigates and flexible support ships. In 2019 the Danish MoD decided to upgrade their Seahawk MH-60R helicopter with dipping sonars for antisubmarine warfare through foreign military sales with the US government. The dipping sonar is manufactured by Thales under the name FLASH and Denmark will update seven helicopters expected to be delivered in 2023.
In the land domain, Thales has equipped Danish Defence with the RAC 3D radar (Intermediate Range Air Defence Radar), multi-mode radar for the coordination of mediumrange, short-range and very-short range air defence weapon systems. It provides a three dimensional air picture up to 100 km. The RAC 3D detects and classifies modern threats, including medium to very low-altitude hovering helicopters.
Moreover, Thales equips the Danish Army’s armoured vehicle fleet with the internal communications and network system called SOTAS. Thales has been a longlasting supplier for this system and is assisting locally the army in the maintenance and further development of this capability.