GM400 – Ready Today for Tomorrow’s Threats

Today more than ever, the nature of conflict is in constant flux. Countries now face both symmetric - near-peer competition - and asymmetric - insurgent groups - adversaries; they also face an increasingly wider variety of threats to national airspace. Where before Command and Control (C2) centres mostly had to contend with stealth aircraft and Theatre Ballistic Missiles (TBM), today they also have to be able to detect and track Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) at low altitude. These targets  are not just flying at different speeds and altitudes; but deployed alone or in swarms, seeking to saturate air defences. 

Picture an ultimate recognised airspace

Building an accurate, up-to-date Recognised Air Picture (RAP) has become challenging, given the multitude of threats and conflicts in constant evolution. To be able to maintain airspace sovereignty, C2 centres need to rely on assets that provide superior situational awareness.

Leveraging years of successfully proven experience, Thales’ Ground Master 400 (GM400) allows operators to maintain superior situational awareness at all times, and at all levels. Featuring full digital stack beam technology, the GM400 detects all types of targets, from fast jets and missiles, to hovering helicopters and UAVs. 

Today, C2 centres cannot afford to rely on a radar that focuses primarily on high altitude targets. The GM400 can detect and track threats such as UAVs flying closer to the ground and hiding in the clutter near the radar, while simultaneously detecting and tracking higher altitude targets from stealth aircraft to fighter bombers at distances up to 515km.

Thomas Désert, GM400 Product Manager at Thales

 

The GM400 is also the first Thales radar to feature military interrogation mode 5 level 2, which enables quick Identification Friend or Foe (IFF). With more time-on-target and the latest NATO IFF standards, C2 centres gain optimum response time and complete peace of mind 

Field at ease

With the nature of conflict in constant flux, it has become difficult to plan, over the long term, where to field air surveillance assets. What may have been a key strategic area yesterday may no longer be so tomorrow. What may have been a safe strategic location until now may become suddenly compromised. Today more than ever, flexibility is crucial.

The GM400 is easily deployable anytime, anywhere, for maximum mobility.  The radar fits into a compact 20ft container, complete with a lifting system, making it easy to mount on a truck for redeployment in less than one hour.  According to operational needs, a fixed GM400 version is also available.

Should radar survivability also become a major concern, radar operators can use the decoys available with the radar. Such levels of survivability greatly contribute to maintaining a constant, up-to-date RAP for superior airspace protection in the most challenging and harshest of situations.

Upgrade and integrate with complete confidence

To always be ready for tomorrow’s threats, upgrades are simple thanks to the software design and digital architecture of the GM400 - ensuring the radars resilience to new threats, cyber-attacks and electronic warfare tactics. 

In addition, the GM400 builds on the successful integration of GM family radars in different C2 systems around the world providing allied airspace protection. 

When we see that our customers demand software upgrades or make repeat orders for the GM400, we know we have been successful in creating a reliable, highly performing radar offering complete airspace protection anytime, anywhere.  

Thomas Désert