Thales has awarded Hensoldt a contract to deliver additional naval radars for the German Navy’s upcoming F126 frigates.
The 200-million-euro ($222.3 million) deal follows a 2022 contract that ordered non-rotating radars with four fixed antenna arrays for the fleet’s initial four vessels.
The latest acquisition will supply two more warships to be built under the program, revealed in June 2024.
Hensoldt’s proprietary TRS-4D technology, which covers up to 250 kilometers (155 miles), was the solution selected for both contracts.
The TRS-4D uses 360-degree panels with a cross-section detection capability of 0.01 square meters and a capacity for up to 1,500 targets.
The system can track small surface objects to combat jets with an update rate of less than a second.
“Our TRS-4D and its high-end components will be deployed on six German Navy ships in the future and offer the customer a high degree of commonality,” Hensoldt Naval & Ground Radars Head Markus Rothmaier stated.
“We are already working on the radars for the four frigates on a daily basis and are delighted that the option for two more has been taken up.”
Germany’s Niedersachsen Frigate
Berlin’s F126 Niedersachsen-class frigate was conceptualized in the 2010s to replace the navy’s F125 Baden-Württemberg for land attack and anti-submarine warfare applications.
The 166-meter (544.6-foot) ship will have a capacity for approximately 110 personnel, an unmanned aerial system, inflatable boats, and two NH90 Sea Tiger helicopters.
It will be armed with Naval Strike and Evolved SeaSparrow missiles, rolling airframe launchers, Vulcano naval guns and guided ammunition, a SeaSnake revolver cannon, Lionfish remote weapon stations, heavy machine guns, water guns, and acoustic devices.
The F126 will sail with four combined diesel-electric and diesel engines, electric drive motors, and lithium-ion battery modules for speeds of more than 26 knots (48 kilometers/30 miles per hour) and a range of over 4,000 nautical miles (7,408 kilometers/4,603 miles).
