France supplied Ukraine with Ground Master 200 radar systems for air defense, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu told his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Reznikov during a meeting in Paris, a medium-range radar produced by French company Thales Group, can provide launch and impact threat coordinates from multiple simultaneous threats. The Associated Press has the story:
Ukraine hails French radar gift as ‘cherry on the cake’
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, left, and Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov, right, sign an agreement with Chairman and CEO of Thales Group Patrice Caine, center, during a visit at Thales radar factory in Limours, south west of Paris, France, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. France has guaranteed Kyiv the delivery of a Ground Master 200 (GM200) radar, produced by the French manufacturer Thales. This medium-range radar is capable of spotting enemy aircraft at 250 km and engaging them at 100 km, whether they are flying at low speed and low altitude like drones or at high altitude like fighter planes. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Speaking through an interpreter at a handover ceremony for the radar with his French counterpart, Reznikov described the French-made GM200 as a “very effective” improvement for Ukraine’s network of about 300 different types of air-defense radars.
Thales, the manufacturer, says the radar detects and tracks rockets, artillery and mortar shells, missiles, aircraft, drones and other threats.
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, right, and Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov, center, pose with Chairman and CEO of Thales Group Patrice Caine, during a visit at Thales radar factory in Limours, south west of Paris, France, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. France has guaranteed Kyiv the delivery of a Ground Master 200 (GM200) radar, produced by the French manufacturer Thales. This medium-range radar is capable of spotting enemy aircraft at 250 km and engaging them at 100 km, whether they are flying at low speed and low altitude like drones or at high altitude like fighter planes. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
“Because of your support, Ukrainian lives will be saved,” the minister said at the ceremony in Limours, where Thales makes the equipment.
“This radar will be the cherry on the cake,” he added. “That’s why it will be called ‘Grand Master.’”
Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov, right, delivers his statement after signing an agreement with French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, left, and Chairman and CEO of Thales Group Patrice Caine, center, during a visit at Thales radar factory in Limours, south west of Paris, France, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. France has guaranteed Kyiv the delivery of a Ground Master 200 (GM200) radar, produced by the French manufacturer Thales. This medium-range radar is capable of spotting enemy aircraft at 250 km and engaging them at 100 km, whether they are flying at low speed and low altitude like drones or at high altitude like fighter planes. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
The French defense minister, Sebastien Lecornu, said the GM200’s range of 250 kilometers (155 miles) would enable it to watch the skies over Kyiv and the Ukrainian capital’s surrounding region, although it wasn’t clear whether that’s where Ukrainian forces intend to deploy it.
Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov, center, looks at the screen control of a Ground Master 200 (GM200) radar during a visit at Thales radar factory in Limours, south west of Paris, France, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. France has guaranteed Kyiv the delivery of a Ground Master 200 (GM200) radar, produced by the French manufacturer Thales. This medium-range radar is capable of spotting enemy aircraft at 250 km and engaging them at 100 km, whether they are flying at low speed and low altitude like drones or at high altitude like fighter planes. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
The radar is transportable on a truck. Thales says it can be deployed in 15 minutes and be moved to another location in 10 minutes, making it a harder target to hit.
The minister was gifted a small model of the radar at the ceremony and brandished it with a big grin above his head.
