NEWTOWN, Conn. - Thales' I-MASTER is a lightweight, compact, surveillance radar with synthetic aperture radar (SAR), ground moving target indicator (GMTI), and maritime moving target indicator (MMTI) features, designed for use with a standardized 15-inch sensor mount. With these attributes, the I-MASTER is ideally suited for use on board small- to medium-sized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and light manned aircraft, although the radar has been specified on aircraft ranging up to the medium-to-large transport size.

The I-MASTER's most important customer historically is the U.K., with acquisition in support of the Watchkeeper UAV. By the end of procurement in 2016, 54 Watchkeepers (56, including the two prototypes) were built for the U.K. While these were the last orders on record, further customers for the I-MASTER-equipped Watchkeeper are expected.

In addition to the U.K., France is a likely purchaser of the Watchkeeper, and has even operated a U.K. example during trials. Poland is another likely customer, with Thales proposing an I-MASTER-equipped Watchkeeper X to fulfill a UAV program requirement for the country. Further orders, whether from France, Poland, or elsewhere, are expected. However, any Watchkeeper-related I-MASTER production other than that destined for the U.K. should be considered speculative.

Demand for the I-MASTER aside from that driven by Watchkeeper production will also be present. The announcement of two additional I-MASTER-capable UAV platforms in 2013 extended the radar's opportunities. This was followed in 2014 by the revealing of the I-MASTER-capable Boeing Reconfigurable Airborne Multi-Intelligence System (RAMIS), and the June 2015 announcement that the radar had been integrated on board the Textron Scorpion Jet light attack/ISR platform.

I-MASTER production - although it is quite speculative - is forecast in support of the two UAV platforms, the King Air 350-based RAMIS, and other unspecified platforms. At least one sale of the RAMIS is already known, with Boeing announcing a multi-aircraft order, theoretically with the I-MASTER selected. After voicing interest, Canada could also emerge as an I-MASTER-equipped RAMIS operator in the future.

Over the next 10 years, the sum of known orders and potential orders is expected to require the production of nearly 200 I-MASTER radars.

Source: Forecast International
Author: C. Zachary Hofer