Thales to showcase Flycatcher Mk2 and STARStreak at Defexpo
The Thales air defence fire control radar Flycatcher Mk2 which will be showcased at Defexpo is equipped with sophisticated 4D multi-beam radar, which combines high detection probability with low false alarm rate. It also has colocated surveillance and track radar, which makes it ideal to prevent errors in target hand-over and to minimise the number of radar locations required to protect the area. The Flycatcher Mk2 is capable of providing not only weapon control for air defence guns, but also target information for Man Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS). fixed wing fighters and late unmasking helicopter targets. Thales has addressed the needs of military users around the world and introduced major improvements to provide increased range beyond 7 km, increased coverage and altitude and improved guidance precision against small targets.
The STARStreak missile is capable of being launched from lightweight land, sea and air platforms, from either automatic fire control systems such as the RAPID Ranger or the STARStreak Lightweight Multiple Launcher (LML).
STARStreak can therefore be deployed quickly into operations and is easy to integrate into a force structure.
STARStreak is a versatile missile and is most effective when dealing with targets with short exposure times. As soon as a target is detected the operator presses the trigger and launches the missile (there is no waiting for lock on). The rocket motor system accelerates the missile to greater than Mach 3 in a fraction of a second. The missile then releases the three laser guided hittiles towards the target. The laser beam riding guidance, which enables precision engagement of the smallest of targets, is immune to all known countermeasures. The hittiles in flight cannot be decoyed by even the latest flares or Electronic Countermeasures (ECM).
The STARStreak hittiles are designed to defeat both heavily armoured and light skinned aerial targets. On penetrating the targets the hittiles will inflict high levels of kinetic energy damage and each hittile also has a fragmenting warhead which detonates inside the target to maximise lethality. The strike is highly precise yet collateral damage is minimised.