Sweden's FMV places USD147.6 million order for Saab's Giraffe 4A radars

Saab's Giraffe 4A radar system with the antenna in a raised position. (Saab)

Saab has received a SEK1.4 billion (USD147.6 million) order from Sweden's Defence Materiel Administration (Försvarets Materielverk: FMV) for the Giraffe 4A radar systems to be delivered to the Swedish Armed Forces, according to a 17 June Saab press release.

The first delivery of the medium-range radar is planned for 2026 according to a 17 June FMV press release. The Giraffe 4A radars will be part of the Swedish Armed Forces' new sensor system programme that will be replacing its existing PS-871 2D reconnaissance radar, according to the release. The radar is used to detect and track sea and low-flying aerial targets and it is reaching the end of its service life.

The Giraffe 4A radar has a range of up to 400 km for air surveillance, according to the Saab website. In the ground-based air defence (GBAD) role it has a scanning rate of up to 8 Hz. The radar is an active electrically scanned array (AESA) with gallium nitride (GaN) components. The material is seen as a high-frequency, high-power transistor capable of operating at high temperatures.

As previously reported by Janes , Saab's Giraffe 4A radar includes electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCMs) capabilities and its software provides a signalling process, which can identify and track a very large number of targets while also removing the “superfluous information to provide the operator with a clear air picture”, Daniel Forsberg, head of the Marketing & Sales business unit, Surface Sensor Solutions at Saab, previously told Janes .

For more information, please see Feature: Finnish Navy bolsters capabilities to meet evolving security challenges , Sweden signs USD31 million Sea Giraffe deal with Saab , and