Thales, Dutch MoD Partner For Air Defense Systems And Services

Thales announced Wednesday its partnership with the Netherlands Ministry of Defense (MOD) for the service of four SMART-L Early Warning Capability (EWC) radars for the nation’s Navy and delivery of two SMART-L EWC Ground Based systems (GB) for the Airforce.

“These are unique contracts in which the services for both ground based and naval systems have been aligned and the MOD has involved a private party,” says vice-admiral Borsboom, Director of the Defense Materiel Organization in The Netherlands. ‘By long term commitment we are able to improve the management of costs during the life cycle of the system.’

“These contracts provide Thales with a key position in maintaining the operational availability of these ground based and naval systems. These contracts are fully in line with our objectives to work more closely together with customers all over the world,” said Gerben Edelijn, CEO of Thales in the Netherlands.

As from 2018 maintenance services of the four SMART-L EWC radars for the Air Defense- and Command Frigates will be carried out in cooperation with the Services and Maintenance Organization of the Royal Netherlands Navy (DMI) for a period of 16 years. The Royal Netherlands Navy and its crews will perform regular on board maintenance. Thales will guarantee the availability of the necessary spare parts and will provide maintenance training together with the Navy.

The contracts for the two SMART-L EWC ground based versions for the Royal Netherlands Air force were closed in December 2014. These systems will replace the current Medium Power Radar systems that were commissioned in the 70’s of the last century. Like the naval versions, the new systems possess a unique combination of long distance surveillance radar with Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) capabilities.

The two ground based systems come with a full Thales performance based logistics contract. Thales will be responsible for service and maintenance of these systems for 16 years.