Thales has ramped up production of air surveillance radars to keep up with growing international demand.
The announcement was made by French President Emmanuel Macron, saying the defense giant aims to double the production of one of its Ground Master (GM) radars.
He said the growing demand is fueled by Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which has highlighted the importance of investing in sophisticated radar systems.
“It’s an ongoing process,” Thales official Yves Descourvieres told Politico. “Up until now, we were producing around 10 radars a year. Now the target is over 20 a year.”
The French firm has reportedly sold more than 200 GM radars since 2008, and 40 of them were purchased last year.
Challenges
Thales, which was ranked the 14th best-earning defense company in the world for 2023, admitted that ramping up radar production is no small feat.
It requires increasing the workforce – a challenge for a Thales factory built in a small town of about 6,500 residents.
“For the assembly lines to cope with the increase of demand, we’re doubling the teams and are in the process of working on two shifts instead of one to make sure we have more production in Limours,” Descourvieres said.
So far, the company has already installed a fourth test chamber for the antennas and 17 testing zones for the radars, compared to 12 several months ago.
It has also coordinated with suppliers for smoother, expedited delivery of components “to avoid waste and wait.”
Thales’s family of GM radars includes the GM200, which has a range of 250 kilometers (155 miles), and the GM400 Alpha, which boasts five times more processing power and an extended range of 500 kilometers (311 miles).
