Chris Pocock has been covering the defense beat for AIN for over 30&nbsp;years. He is a British citizen and a graduate of the University of Cambridge. Chris worked in the air cargo business for ten years before becoming a full-time writer in 1983. He subsequently edited two air cargo journals before becoming AIN’s Defense Editor. He retired from that position in 2018, but still contributes to the publication. Chris has written extensively on aerial reconnaissance, including four books on the history of the U-2 spyplane. He also lectures on this and other topics related to intelligence-gathering in the Cold War.

Defense Correspondent

Chris Pocock

Singapore is buying Thales Raytheon Systems GroundMaster 200 radars, adding to an already-extensive ground-based air defense (GBAD) line-up of systems. A development radar, mounted on a Man 8 x 8 truck, was on display in the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) static display at the Singapore Airshow this week. The nearby RSAF pavilion contained graphics that confirmed the island state’s purchase of MBDA Aster 30 air defense missiles.

 


The RSAF has renamed the GroundMaster 200 the Shikra radar, after a local bird of prey. The name is also an acronym for System for Hybrid Interceptor and Knowledge of Recognized Air. The Thales product is a medium-range 3-D radar operating in S-band that provides accurate detection of targets from very low to high altitude. The fully-digital sold-state multibeam system has two operator positions.

 


The Aster 30 buy, which Singapore announced last September, is the first export deal for this land-based version, although seven countries have bought the ship-based version. These include Singapore, which has installed Aster 15s on its frigates. In Europe, the Aster 30 forms part of the SAMP/T air and missile defense system produced by the Eurosam consortium. AIN understands that Singapore is not buying the radars and C2 systems that also comprise SAMP/T. Instead, it will integrate the missiles into its own air defense radar and C2 architecture.

Singapore Boosts Air Defense with MBDA Missiles and Thales Radars

GroundMaster 200 radars will combine with ground-launched Aster 30 missiles

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