Peru Picks Thales for Long-Range Airspace Radar in $39.3M Deal
Peru’s Armed Forces Procurement Agency (Acffaa) has signed a $39.3 million contract with Thales LAS France SAS, the local arm of the French defence group, for a long-range, three-dimensional early-warning and airspace surveillance radar. The award, finalised on 21 October, was made under procurement process RES-PROC-28-2026-DPC/ACFFAA-1.
The official description of the tender is the “acquisition of one (01) long-range 3D surveillance and early-warning radar.” The system’s end user will be the Peruvian Air Force’s (FAP) Air Defence Group (Gruda), the unit responsible for the surveillance, control and defence of Peruvian airspace.
Which model is being bought?
The size of the contract points to Thales’s Ground Master 400 Alpha (GM400α) as the likely model. According to the manufacturer, the system can detect, classify and track targets ranging from slow-moving drones to supersonic aircraft and missiles at distances of up to 515 kilometres, with a six-second update rate. It is transportable in a standard 20-foot container, can be mounted on a military truck, and can be redeployed in under an hour. Thales says the radar is in active service in more than 20 countries.
Thales has been pitching the GM400 family to Peru since at least 2019, including at the Sitdef trade fair in Lima. Six years on, that offer has finally translated into a signed contract.
Rival bids rejected
Two significant competing bids were on the table. Lockheed Martin offered its AN/TPS-77 multi-mission radar (MMR), but the bid was not accepted. Lockheed’s relationship with Peru extends beyond radar: the company already has a contract to sell Peru 12 F-16 Block 70 fighters, and a second batch of 12 more is reportedly under negotiation for the coming weeks.
On the European side, Spain’s Indra proposed its Lanza 3D LRR radar, with a manufacturer-stated range of up to 470 kilometres. Despite that, Acffaa’s choice went to Thales.
Classification and context
Details of the tender file remain classified, so the technical evaluation criteria and price comparisons have not been made public. The project is registered under Peru’s public-investment system with the unique code 2313734.
The contract fits into a broader wave of air-defence modernisation in Peru. On top of the air force inventory already being reinforced by Lockheed’s F-16 deliveries, Peru will now add long-range early-warning radar capability. Analysts see it as a concrete step in Peru’s push to strengthen regional airspace awareness.
Why it matters
Long-range AESA-technology radar procurements have been relatively rare in Latin America, and Peru’s choice of Thales underscores Europe’s continuing competitiveness in the region’s defence market. At the same time, Lockheed Martin’s F-16 sale and Indra’s bid show that the United States and Spain are both actively positioning themselves in Peru, making the country’s defence market a genuinely multipolar field of competition.
Sources
- Infodefensa, “Perú adjudica a Thales un contrato para adquirir un radar AESA de vigilancia de largo alcance,” 22 October 2026. (Primary source; details on the procurement process, parties and rival bids.)
