Paris/France,
23 January 2026 An important milestone for Horizon
Mid-Life-Upgrade (MLU) Programme has been reached with the installation of the
Kronos Grand Naval (KGN) radar at the Shore Integration Facility (SIF) in
Saint-Mandrier (Direction Générale de l’Armement – DGA – Site d’Expérimentation
des Systèmes de Défense Aérienne - SESDA)
The first
Kronos Grand Naval (KGN, provided by Leonardo) was shipped and installed on the
DGA Shore Integration Facility (SIF) in Saint-Mandrier, France, on the 17th
December 2025.
This is a
major highlight of the Horizon-MLU co-operative Programme, and a critical
prerequisite to begin the qualification and acceptance of the PAAMS at SIF over
the coming year. The SIF Steering Committee (involving OCCAR, co-contractors
Naviris and Eurosam, and national representatives) visited the premises on 21
January, 2026 and witnessed the progress made on the infrastructure that will
support HRZ MLU Programme.
The Shore
Integration Facility (SIF) at the DGA site in Saint-Mandrier (Direction
Générale de l’Armement – Site d’Expérimentation des Systèmes de Défense
Aérienne – SESDA) is set to house the core Horizon-MLU combat systems and
equipment, including PAAMS, Kronos Grand Naval, Long-Range Radar SMART-L MM
(provided by Thales Nederland) as well as Italian then French Combat Management
Systems (CMS). This configuration will enable operational testing to be carried
out on land as part of the Integration, Verification, Validation and
Qualification (IVVQ) process, before the complete systems are integrated on
board Italian and French warships.
The main
objectives of the MLU are obsolescence resolution of systems/equipment, design,
development and integration on board of the new up to date systems. The main
core of the Common activities is focused on the development, production and
integration onboard of the Anti-Air Warfare (AAW) and Electronic Warfare
Systems (EWS) domains’ systems providing enhanced, new capabilities and
performances against the most modern threats. The upgraded anti-air warfare
frigates will be delivered by between 2028 and 2030.