Surveillance of Finnish airspace. Credit: Finnish Army.

The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) have carried out a successful live firing of the Crotale New Generation (NG) short-range air defence system integrated with the latest advanced Catherine XP thermal camera, provided by Thales.

Conducted at an FDF training range, the test firing demonstrated the capabilities of the Thales Crotale NG installed with the Catherine XP compact high-performance thermal imager.

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The thermal camera has been acquired by the FDF within the framework of a running support contract, which is part of the long-term sustainment of the system’s optronic target acquisition and tracking capability.

The optronic mode provides support to the operator in taking a decision in the event of an air threat.

“Over the last 30 years, Thales has been responsible for delivering services and capability sustainment for FDF’s Crotale NG air defence system.”

The enhanced technical performance of the new Catherine XP thermal camera provides the FDF with a dependable real-time image that is immediately available to the operators to make the best decision and act accordingly.

The live-fire trial revealed the precision and enhanced performance of the system, which is completely in line with the requirements of Finland, in fulfilling the missions of protecting civilian populations and deployed forces.

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Over the last 30 years, Thales has been responsible for delivering services and capability sustainment for FDF’s Crotale NG air defence system.

The addition of the new Catherine XP camera helps maintain the development momentum of the Crotale NG multi-sensor short-range air defence (SHORAD) system, while further increasing its combat performance.

Benefitted by the latest Quantum Well Infra-red Photo-detection (QWIP) technology, the small size of Thales’ Catherine XP camera facilitates easy installation in most sights, including light armoured vehicles.

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