The French Thales will manufacture and deliver the GM200 radar to Ukraine in May this year.

Patrice Caine, CEO of the company, announced this in an interview with French Le Journal du Dimanche.

In addition, he noted that the Thales Group plans to hire 12,000 new employees this year.

The increased number of new employees is due to an increase in Thales product orders.

He noted that the company has 80,000 employees, 40,000 of them being in France. Previously, the company hired up to 8,000 people a year, and by 2022, the number of new employees had grown to 11,500.

Caine also added that all the main industries with which the company works – defense, security, aeronautics, space, identification, and digital security – are actively developing.

“The company is a reflection of its markets, which are experiencing dynamic growth and growing needs in all areas of our business,” he said.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, shares of Thales, one of Europe’s largest suppliers of weapons electronics, have grown by almost 60%.

On February 1, Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine, signed an agreement to supply a complete short-range air defense system. It will include the GM200 radar, control center, radio communication, and air targeting systems.

The radar will be funded by the special Ukraine support fund set up by France.

The GM 200 medium-range radar is part of the Ground Master family of radars. The GM200 model, with all its equipment, is installed in a container transported by an 8×8 truck.

It can be integrated into the SAMP/T air defense system, which is also provided to Ukraine.