Thales is to supply Royal Navy with a new airborne and surveillance capability under a subcontract from Lockheed Martin UK. The Crowsnest system to be fitted on Merlin MK2 helicopters is a new generation of the Thales Searchwater radar and Cerberus mission system. The system features touch-screen technology and an autonomous artificial intelligence-based tracking system, improved target identification, the ability to library match airborne contacts, inverse synthetic aperture radar and a fully integrated electronic support measures. Operators of the Crowsnest system are also able to exploit collected data more effectively through a greatly enhanced mission recording and replay system that allows both real-time and post-mission data reconstruction. The MK2 helicopters will be operated from Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.