Recent, major radar acquisitions by European nations have shown a spotlight on an increasingly important program, the Thales-led SMART-L family.
In September 2023, Eurosam and Thales signed a contract for the delivery and installation of four SMART-L Multi-Mission Naval (MM/N) long-range radars to be installed on two French and two Italian Horizon class frigates. The first SMART-L MM/N is scheduled for delivery in 2026.
A few months earlier, In July 2023, the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration (FMV) signed an agreement with Thales for the delivery and installation of SMART-L Multi-Mission Fixed (MM/F) radars, with first delivery scheduled for 2025.
Development of the next-generation SMART-L was marked with the installation in early 2020 of the first land-based facility in the Netherlands. The MM update, which can also be purchased as an upgrade to existing SMART-L systems, gives the radar an extended ballistic missile defense (BMD) capability and architecture layout improvements that include the use of GaN components and an AESA. The upgraded SMART-L MM also offers a greater diversity of applications than the previous SMART-L model, with the addition of the fixed and mobile land-based variants.
Introduction of the SMART-L MM increases the possibility that SMART-L sales will continue to expand beyond the system’s current operator base. User nations already include Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany, among others. The SMART-L MM/N is an attractive option for sea powers wishing to expand into a strategic BMD role.
NATO countries should continue to be the SMART-L’s primary customers, although certain Asian countries that are not aligned with China could also purchase the radar. Like many other segments of the defense technology world, the SMART-L’s sales potential has increased in recent years as nuclear saber rattling and more aggressive military posturing have ramped up.
Andrew Dardine is lead analyst for Forecast International's Defense Electronic Systems group. He is the primary author of Forecast International's Electronic Warfare Forecast and co-author of Electro-Optical Systems Forecast and C4I Forecast. Andrew is also a regular contributor to FI's Defense & Security Monitor blog, offering insights into developing technologies such as directed-energy and next-generation jamming systems. His analysis of such vital market areas as EO/IR systems and electronic countermeasures technology has been cited in Defense News, Aerospace Daily, and Bloomberg Businessweek, among other news media. He has also written about the electronic defense market for Aviation Week and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
