Thales, Ukrainian Defence Industry to Establish JV for Air Defense, Radar and Electronic Warfare

French defense company Thales and Ukraine’s Joint Stock Company "Ukrainian Defence Industry" (UDI) have signed an agreement to create a joint venture focused on air defense systems, radars, electronic warfare systems, tactical communications, and optoelectronic solutions.

The agreement, signed during the Munich Security Conference, was attended by Ukraine’s Minister for Strategic Industries, Herman Smetanin. The joint venture aims to provide Ukraine with advanced technological solutions while enhancing operational support for its military.

UDI General Director Oleg Hulyak stated that the collaboration with Thales will strengthen Ukraine’s air defense capabilities against Russian threats and provide local defense firms with access to new technologies. Smetanin highlighted the long-standing cooperation between UDI and Thales and expressed appreciation for the company’s commitment to working in Ukraine.

Thales has already supplied Ukraine with Ground Master 200 radars, Arabel radars for the SAMP-T air defense system, HPD mod. F2 anti-tank mines, and NightRise night vision systems. In November, Thales signed a memorandum with an unnamed Ukrainian company to jointly produce anti-UAV missiles.

Thales is a key manufacturer of the SAMP-T air defense system, which uses Aster-30 interceptor missiles equipped with AD4A active radar homing heads and PIF-PAF transverse control engines for high-speed target engagement.

The SAMP-T system’s Arabel radar offers 90-degree elevation coverage, eliminating blind spots and improving targeting against ballistic threats. It can engage up to 10 targets at once, with a firing rate of up to 48 interceptions per minute. The AD4A homing head tracks small, high-speed targets with radar cross-sections as low as 0.007-0.01 square meters at distances of 5-7 km. The PIF-PAF engines allow the missile to maneuver with up to 62G overloads during interception, even against highly maneuverable targets.

The SAMP-T system is capable of targeting tactical aircraft, cruise missiles like the Kalibr-NK/PL and Kh-101, and quasi-ballistic missiles like the 9M723-1 Iskander-M.