A new “smart” anti-aircraft shield to protect Europe from drones and hypersonic ballistic missiles / It can also be integrated with Patriot systems like Romania has

The French technology group Thales, one of the largest arms companies on the continent, has officially announced the launch of the SkyDefender. It is an integrated air and missile defense system, described as a multi-layered “dome” of protection that uses artificial intelligence to counter various threats, from small and slow drones to hypersonic and ballistic missiles.

SkyDefender: An open architecture compatible with existing European systems

The company explained that one of SkyDefender's strengths is its modular and open architecture. Thales points out that this “dome” of protection is compatible with air defense systems already in the equipment of the armed forces, allowing integration with platforms of the legacy or with systems from different manufacturers.

The system is managed through a SkyView command and control (C2) center, and through the SkyView Alliance component it “ensures seamless interoperability with NATO standards and multi-domain allied platforms”.

Practically, the versatility of the system allows European countries that want to modernize their defense not to have to give up in any way the massive investments already made in air defense.

SkyDefender operates on three tiers and combines both detection and interception solutions: very short-range ForceShield, medium- and long-range defense, and wide-area surveillance and early warning.

Thales also says that the effectiveness of this protective dome is enhanced by the cortAlx artificial intelligence accelerator, which enables SkyDefender to process huge volumes of data in real time, “providing operational superiority and a proactive defense against cyber-attacks”.

Short-Range Protection: ForceShield and Counter-Drones

For the protection of forces in the field or sensitive locations, Thales proposes the ForceShield component. This creates a protective bubble against lower-layer threats such as drones (C-UAS) and very short-range (VSHORAD) or short-range (SHORAD) threats, the company says.

According to the details presented to the media, including HotNews, the shield uses kinetic effectors such as:

• Drone interceptors and missile systems MM or Starstreak.
• gun 40mm RapidFire for rapid neutralization of targets.
• Laser guided missiles such as the model FZ275 or other short-range anti-aircraft missiles such as those launched from shoulder or tripod-type or vehicle-mounted devices.

Theater-level defense: MRAD and LRAD

For medium distances (MR) and long (LRAD), Thales says SkyDefender integrates the system SAMP/T NG (developed by eurosam, an evolution of the Mamba system used by the French Army and deployed in Romania at Capu Midia, as part of the NATO Battle Group led by France in our country). The SAMP/T NG is capable of engagements up to 150 km and includes the high-performance Ground Fire radar, which provides 360-degree coverage and a detection range of 350 km.

The long- and medium-range component can, however, also rely on a range of missiles and interceptors:

• ROCKETS Aster (for SAMP/T-NG systems and naval PAAMS systems).
• ROCKETS Amra (used by NASAMS systems) and rockets IRIS-T SL.
• missiles PAC-3 used by Patriot systems (as Romania has)
• Future European hypersonic interceptors and air weaponry for fighter jets receiving target coordinates via datalink.

Global surveillance and early warning from space

A major differentiator of SkyDefender, according to the company, is the early warning and monitoring capability over huge distances, up to 5,000 kmthanks to SMART-L MM and UHF radars.

Thales says the system is complemented by Thales Alenia Space solutions, which use satellites placed in geostationary orbit and equipped with infrared sensors, so that missile launches can be detected from space and the system can provide the exact location of a target missile before the threat enters the range of ground-based radars.

Non-Kinetic Effectors: Electronic Warfare and Directed Energy Weapons

SkyDefender does not rely solely on explosives to neutralize targets. Thales claims to integrate an advanced non-kinetic effector component to deal with modern conflicts where jamming and silent neutralization are a priority:

• Jamming systems for radars or communications.
• Directed energy weapons, including the RapidDestroyer high-powered microwave system.
• High-Energy Laser systems.