EURO-ART delivers first COBRA for French Forces
Paris, 25 March 2004
The Euro-Art consortium of Thales, EADS, and Lockheed Martin has delivered the first French COBRA (Counter Battery RAdar) Production System for the French Armed Forces.
As reported on Wednesday the 25th by Euro-Art in Munich, Germany, the management company made up of EADS Defence and Communications Systems, Thales Air Defence (F), Thales Defence (UK), and Lockheed Martin, stated that the first French COBRA system was delivered to the French Army in February 2004. The highly mobile weapon locating radar will be initially used for training, peacetime trials and exercises. Final delivery of the French order for 10 radars expects to be completed by the end of 2006. The first delivery for Germany is scheduled for spring 2004. The UK is continuing its trials and evaluation of the System.
Euro-Art is producing 29 COBRA systems for the three Nations through OCCAR, the European Organisation for Joint Armaments Co-operation, located in Bonn, Germany.
The COBRA is the world’s first and only multifunctional counter battery radar with a full active phased array antenna, demonstrating next-generation radar techonology by combining agility with highly accurate results. COBRA is designed to detect and classify small cross-section targets across the entire battlefield as well as perform friendly fire registration (monitoring the fall of shot of one or more friendly weapons and identifying the precise impact locations). Its integral tracking accuracy combined with a highly efficient “clutter-rejection” technique enables the system to quickly and precisely pinpoint hostile enemy positions. A single cross-country wheeled vehicle – for the French forces a Renault – incorporates an operations cabin equipped for tow operators and a radar antenna. At the heart of the system, an active modular antenna enables the COBRA system to maintain an extremely rapid deployment and decampment time of only a few minutes through extremely short transmission times and wide-band frequency agility.
“The COBRA system for the French Armed Forces brings to reality the impact of the latest technology combined with accuracy and agility. With this system, we have created the answer to requirements of rapid ground deployment and surveillance,” stated Yves Joannic, Managing Director of EuroArt.
EADS Defence and Communications Systems (DCS) is part of the Defence and Security Systems division of EADS. DCS has been created in order to better respond to the new evolution of the defence markets which are more focused on global solutions and integrated systems. For this purpose, DCS regroups several defence activities with the telecommunications activities of EADS. Its field of competence encompasses manned and unmanned systems such as tactical and strategic UAVs, manned mission aircraft, Command, Control, Communication Information systems (C3I), and Naval Defence, Public Safety including Homeland Security and Communication and Information Network. DCS as the EADS Systems House implements advanced defence concepts, simulation and experimentation tools like NETCOS.
Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, Lockheed Martin employs about 130,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services. Lockheed Martin is a world leader in radar research, design, development, and manufacture. For more than a half-century Lockheed Martin has produced radar and integrated surveillance systems, including the world's first solid-state radar in 1976. Today, Lockheed Martin radar systems are in operation on the ground, at sea and in the air in 38 countries, ranging from near the Arctic Circle to the Saudi Arabian desert to the tropics of Brazil. They detect, classify, track and engage distant targets over every terrain imaginable.
Thales is a world leader in professional electronics in three key markets: Aerospace, Defence and Information Technology & Services. The Group employs 63,000 people in nearly 50 countries worldwide and generated revenues of €10.6 billion in 2003, of which 74% was on international markets.
Press contact:
Stephanie Chalmers
EADS Defence and Communications Systems
Tel.: +49 (0) 731 392 7488
mailto: stephanie.chalmers@sysde.eads.net
Kathy Baier
Lockheed Martin
Tel.: 856-722-3006
mailto: Kathleen.m.baier@lmco.com
Matt Pothecary
Thales
Tel.: +33 (0) 1 57 77 87 27
mailto: matt.pothecary@thalesgroup.com
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
