The Senegalese Air Force has ordered an unspecified number of Thales Ground Master 400 long-range air surveillance radars.
The first set would be delivered in 2019. The system would be integrated with the country’s already existing SkyView command-and-control system mounted at Ouakam Air Base in Dakar.
According to information provided by Thales group, the Ground Master 400 is an integral part of Thales-Raytheon Systems digital 3D air defense systems.
The system is available in two versions: mobile and fixed. It can be operated remotely for safety reasons or can be operated as part of a integrated command and control centre.
Various pictures showing the Ground Master 400 configurations
As previously reported, the Senegalese Military is modernizing it forces at a rapid pace just recently the country signed an agreement with Aero Vorodochody to deliver four units of the latest L-39 NG Albatross trainer attack light aircraft and also it took delivery of refurbished Mi-24 Hind assault gunships from Poland.
Defence experts believes that this new modernization frenzy is due to the country not fielding proper aerial protection during the 2017 Gambian invasion whereby the only aerial and naval assets were deployed by the Nigerian military.
Key features of the Thales Ground Master 400:
- Digital Beam Forming
- MTBCF*: 3000 hours (*mean time between critical failures)
- Operational availability > 99.9%
- One single package (20 feet ISO standard container, 10 tons)
- Plug, play and operate in Network Centric Operations
- Chosen and planned maintenance with limited team