SMART-S Mk2 User Days

On 1 and 2 November Thales organized the SMART-S Mk2 User Days. Users of the SMART-S Mk2 came to Hengelo to talk with each other and with Thales about this naval surveillance radar.

Victor Paashuis, the driving force behind this event: “We started about a year ago with the preparations and in this period a team has formed that has excellently worked together to realize the SMART-S User Days. With this event we wanted to discuss experiences and issues the users encounter with the SMART-S radar. Customer intimacy is one of Thales’s spearheads and the User Days is one way to attain this. But there’s more. We also wanted to inform our users about the future of SMART-S Mk2. The first systems have been operational for ten years now and we expect that thirty years from now there will still be naval ships with a SMART-S Mk2 on them. In such a long period of time, obsolescence of parts will be unavoidable. We should talk about this subject with the users and indicate how we will manage this issue.

Constructive

The User Days have yielded constructive sessions with the users. They have given much valuable information and were receptive to our information and ideas. They have also exchanged information among each other. The relationship with the users has benefitted greatly from this event.

What did the users think of the User Days?

LCdr Amit Bagga, Royal Canadian Navy, working on the Halifax modernization program: “The User Days were an excellent use of time! We were able to collaborate with Thales and the other navies and share our logistics, technical and performance concerns. The best part was the opportunity to improve the relationship with Thales and address commonality issues with other navies.”

LCdr Ahmed Al – Siyabi of the Royal Navy of Oman: “The User Days were very good to exchange ideas and get feedback from Thales and the other navies. This is not one-sided communication; it goes both ways. We were happy to see that other participants from the attending navies share same common areas of interest”

Kjeld Lorenzen, Radar instructor for APAR, SMART-L and SMART-S in the Royal Danish Navy: “The User Days were very beneficial to us. We were able to share information with other navies and we noticed that Thales is really listening to our problems. The highlight was the presentation of the SMART-S Mk2 roadmap and the future innovations Thales is working on. Focusing on the commonality between the various navies and networking with the other navies were also valuable.”

Will there be more User Days?

Victor: “Certainly! User Days are a great instrument to stay in touch with the customer and to deal with any problems with our products in a positive manner. In 2018 we plan to organize another SMART-S Mk2 User Days event. We expect to have more users then because the radar will become operational with more navies in the years ahead.