Stealth searching

has formalised a contract with

for two S1850M long-range volume search radars to be installed on the

’s two new aircraft carriers.

The carriers are being built by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, which comprises the UK Ministry of Defence, Babcock Marine, BAE Systems, BVT Surface Fleet and Thales.

The first radar system is scheduled to be delivered in 2011 and the second radar system in 2013.

The S1850M surveillance radar is based on Thales's SMART-L radar and was previously delivered to Type 45 destroyers for the Royal Navy.

The scope of Thales’ contract includes minor enhancements to the Type 45 design to meet the specific needs of aircraft carrier operations.

According to Thales, the S1850M is capable of 3D long-range automatic detection, track initiation and tracking of air targets.

Its performance has been demonstrated in tests and the system has proven capable of detecting stealth targets in ‘high-clutter’ environments.