What Is the SMART-S Mk2? Thales’s Frigate and Corvette Radar (with an ASELSAN Link)
The SMART-S Mk2 is Thales’s medium-to-long-range three-dimensional naval surveillance radar for frigates and corvettes. Fitted to warships in navies around the world, it carries a special significance for Türkiye: Thales sources the radar’s transmit/receive (T/R) modules from the Turkish defence-electronics champion ASELSAN.
What Is the SMART-S Mk2?
Its name short for “Signaal Multibeam Acquisition Radar for Tracking, S band,” the SMART-S Mk2 is a rotating, multibeam naval radar designed by Thales’s Dutch arm, Thales Nederland. Operating in S-band, it detects air and surface targets simultaneously and has become one of the standard surveillance radars for mid-tonnage warships such as light frigates, corvettes and landing platform docks (LPDs).
Technical Specifications
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| System type | 3D multibeam naval surveillance radar (S-band) |
| Manufacturer | Thales Nederland |
| Medium-range mode | up to 150 km (27 rpm) |
| Long-range mode | up to 250 km (13.5 rpm) |
| Simultaneous tracking | 500 air and surface targets |
| Elevation coverage | 70° |
| Minimum range | 150 m |
| Missile support | Surface-to-air missiles (SAM) such as the ESSM |
| Target platforms | Light frigates, corvettes, LPDs |
Mission Profile and Significance
The SMART-S Mk2’s strength is that it can tune its rotation to the mission: spinning at 27 rpm it tracks near threats with frequent updates, and dropping to 13.5 rpm it stretches range out to 250 km. The radar can automatically detect and track 500 air and surface targets at once and provides the target data to support the firing of surface-to-air missiles such as the ESSM — making it both a corvette’s early-warning tower and the eye of its weapon system.
Operators
The SMART-S Mk2 proved a commercial success, with around 30 systems sold worldwide within six years of its introduction. Users include Royal New Zealand Navy frigates, the Royal Danish Navy’s flexible support ships, the Royal Malaysian Navy’s Maharaja Lela-class ships and the Indonesian Navy’s Bung Tomo-class corvettes.
Relevance to Türkiye
The SMART-S Mk2 is the most concrete example of the Thales–Türkiye relationship. Thales sources the transmit/receive (T/R) modules used in the radar from the Turkish defence-electronics firm ASELSAN, with delivery of the first 100 modules beginning in 2015. It shows how the relationship has shifted from a one-way sale to a reciprocal supply partnership: critical electronic components at the heart of a Franco-Dutch radar are manufactured in Türkiye.
Competing Systems
| System | Manufacturer | Country | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Giraffe | Saab | Sweden | GaN AESA options |
| Kronos Grand Naval | Leonardo | Italy | Fixed-face AESA |
| ÇAFRAD/ASELSAN radars | ASELSAN | Türkiye | Indigenous alternative (new ships) |
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the SMART-S Mk2’s range? Up to 150 km in medium-range mode and up to 250 km in long-range mode.
- How many targets can it track? 500 air and surface targets simultaneously.
- What ships use it? Light frigates, corvettes and landing platform docks (LPDs).
- What is its link to Türkiye? Thales sources the radar’s T/R modules from ASELSAN, with first deliveries from 2015.
- Does it support the ESSM? Yes; it provides the target data needed to fire surface-to-air missiles such as the ESSM.
