The Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR) has awarded Hensoldt a new in-service support contract for the COBRA counter-battery radar system on behalf of France and Germany. The three-year agreement, covering 2026–2028, is being arranged ahead of the current contract’s expiry in December 2025 to ensure uninterrupted support. As the system design authority, Hensoldt will deliver core services including configuration and technical incident management, on-site maintenance, logistic documentation, IT security, quality assurance, and safety oversight, with an emphasis on addressing component obsolescence. COBRA was jointly developed in the 1990s by Thales, Airbus Defence and Space, and Lockheed Martin for France, the UK, and Germany. Deliveries took place between 2005 and 2007. Initial support contracts were managed by ESG, acquired by Hensoldt in 2024. COBRA remains one of the world’s most capable land-based weapon-locating radars, offering rapid detection and classification of hostile artillery, rockets, and mortars. It can identify up to 40 firing positions within two minutes and assist in adjusting friendly artillery fire. An upgrade package extends the detection range to 100 km and adds features such as a dual-layer search fence and automated sandstorm filtering.
