SQUIRE is a Thales Nederland man-portable ground surveillance radar built to detect, track, and classify moving ground, low-level air, and maritime targets while supporting artillery and mortar fire adjustment. Dutch parliamentary material identified Squire battlefield surveillance radars among the Netherlands' February 2022 military deliveries for Ukraine, and Janes reported that two Squire 2D ground-surveillance radars were supplied alongside AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder weapon-locating radars.
The Netherlands approved delivery of two Squire battlefield surveillance radars to Ukraine in February 2022; Dutch parliamentary material said the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence was the recipient and Ukrainian land and naval forces were the end users, while Janes reported the same two-radar Squire transfer after the full-scale invasion.
Role detailsThe Ukraine transfer came from an established Dutch radar inventory rather than a one-off development program. Public reporting ties SQUIRE to Thales Nederland production in Hengelo, Dutch Army and Marine Corps service, upgrades for drone detection, and export customers such as Norway and Belgium.
The Netherlands ordered 62 systems in 2002 for land and marine forces.
Thales Norway reporting cited by Microwave Journal identifies Hengelo, Netherlands, as the Squire manufacturing location.
A 2018 Dutch contract upgraded 60 radars for faster deployment and drone detection/classification tasks.
Belgium bought nine Dutch Squire radars for its ISTAR Battalion, with the Netherlands to modernize them to Block 2 before service.
Belgian Defence later described a Belgian SQUIRE team detecting air and ground activity during Exercise Hard'eche in France.
SQUIRE is a sensor rather than a launcher. Its value is in giving small units an all-weather moving-target picture, warning of activity in selected zones, and feeding target or fall-of-shot information to artillery and mortar units.
I/J-band FMCW surveillance radar with automatic and manual Doppler target classification.
Thales data lists detection and classification of moving targets out to a 48 km instrumented range.
The same data lists mini-UAV detection and slow-aircraft surveillance below 360 km/h.
Public specifications describe artillery and mortar fire-adjustment support; Janes also describes target acquisition and artillery fire adjustment.
Public sources distinguish original Dutch SQUIRE sets from later upgraded configurations optimized for faster deployment and drone detection.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| SQUIRE Block II | Upgraded Dutch and Belgian-service configuration | The Dutch Defence Materiel Organisation contracted Thales in 2018 to upgrade 60 SQUIRE radars for faster deployment and drone detection/classification; Belgium then bought nine Dutch Squire radars to be modernized to Block 2 for its ISTAR battalion. Sources: Unmanned Airspace SQUIRE Upgrade, DefenseMirror Belgium Squire |
| Norwegian updated Squire | Vehicle-mounted export configuration | The 2013 Norway order covered 44 radars with an updated processor board, with most systems to be mounted on Vingtaqs II long-range surveillance, observation, and reconnaissance vehicles. Sources: Microwave Journal Norway Squire |
The Dutch Ministry of Defence and Thales Nederland signed a contract for 62 SQUIRE systems, including logistics and training, for Royal Netherlands Army and Royal Netherlands Marine Corps use.
Sources: Unmanned Airspace SQUIRE Upgrade
Microwave Journal reported a Thales and Vinghog contract for 44 Squire battlefield surveillance radars for Norway, with Thales saying the radars were manufactured in Hengelo, Netherlands.
Sources: Microwave Journal Norway Squire
The Dutch Defence Materiel Organisation contracted Thales to upgrade 60 SQUIRE radars for faster deployment and improved drone detection and classification.
Sources: Unmanned Airspace SQUIRE Upgrade
DefenseMirror reported that Belgium bought nine Squire radars from the Dutch armed forces, with the Netherlands to modernize the systems to Block 2 before Belgian ISTAR Battalion service.
Sources: DefenseMirror Belgium Squire
A Dutch parliamentary letter identified two Squire battlefield surveillance radars among military goods approved for Ukraine, with Ukrainian land and naval forces listed as end users.
Sources: Dutch Parliament Ukraine Military Goods Letter
Janes reported that the Netherlands would supply two Squire man-portable 2D ground-surveillance radars and five AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder radars to Ukraine.
Sources: Janes Netherlands Squire Ukraine
Belgian Defence reported that a Belgian radar team used SQUIRE during Exercise Hard'eche in France to detect air and ground activity and pass tactical information to participating units.
Sources: Belgian Defence Hardeche SQUIRE Exercise
