Thales

The contract for the Tiger Aircrew Training Means (TATM) has been extended by the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR 1) representing Germany and France. The four-year extension of the initial support contract which began in November 2006, will ensure the continued support and integrated services for the 26 Tiger helicopter simulators and associated devices located in four sites across France and Germany. The support activities within the contract include the daily servicing of the Tiger Aircrew Training Means, ensuring that the simulators are in the appropriate training configuration, and maintaining the simulators for effective operational use by the instructors.

Thales recently announced that it has signed an agreement with the Royal Navy of Oman to equip patrol boats and corvettes with Vigile electronic support measures (ESM) systems that include Vigile 200 and Vigile 400 systems. The Vigile family of ESM solutions has been developed to monitor, measure and analyze electromagnetic signals, providing the crew with early warning, situation awareness and electromagnetic signals intelligence functions in both open ocean and dense littoral environments.

The French defense procurement agency, DGA, has selected Thales to supply 50 electronic warfare (EW) programming stations for seven helicopter families in service for the French armed forces. Under the agreement, Thales is scheduled to deliver the EW programming stations by the first quarter of 2012, following customer qualification beginning in late 2011. The helicopters are the French Army aviation unit's upgraded Cougar, EC725 HUS, Tiger standard 1 and 2, NH90, Gazelle and Puma; and the French Navy's Panther.

Thales Norway has been awarded a contract by the Swedish Defence Material Administration to supply the Swedish Armed Forces with a command and control (C2) system for helicopter units. According to the contract, Thales will be responsible for system design, integration and supply of systems that provide improved C2 capability to deployed helicopter units. The systems will be interoperable with existing mobile C2 systems within the air force and Nordic Battle Group.

The Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV) has awarded Thales Norway a contract to supply the Swedish Armed Forces with a new command and control (C2) system for helicopter units. Under the contract, Thales will be responsible for system design, integration and supply of C2 systems for Swedish helicopter units. The system will provide improved command and control capability for helicopter units deployed in national or international operations. It will be an integrated part of the armed force's overall C2 systems, and will be interoperable with existing mobile C2 systems in the Swedish air force and Nordic Battle Group.

EADS Defence and Security and Thales have received a contract worth 26.1 million euros from the French defence procurement agency to produce and support two sets of deployable geographic modules (MGPs) for the French army's 28th Geographic Group. The program will develop a deployable system that can rapidly  produce, maintain and distribute military geography information. The MGP modules will supply geographic data updated in the field to operational land forces via a single cartographic access point.

The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence has awarded Thales UK an initial three-year support contract for the Watchkeeper unmanned aerial system program, for which Thales is also the prime system integrator. The agreement is a performance-based Contractor Logistics Support service, requiring the company to provide spares and repairs, technical support and a Watchkeeper training facility.

Thales U.K. has won a six-ship, seven year support contract for the Royal Navy's Daring class destroyers' fully integrated communications system. Under the multi-million pound contract, the company will guarantee the availability of the communication systems fitted to the ships. The contract covers all internal and external communications systems and will run until 2016.

Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a contract to supply machinery automation systems for two mine countermeasures vessels being sold by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence to the Lithuanian Navy. The contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman's Sperry Marine unit by Thales U.K., the prime contractor for the refit and upgrade. The two ships will be fitted with Sperry Marine's commercial machinery automation system, which provides an integrated and flexible network for monitoring and controlling the ships' engines and auxiliary systems.

The French Defense Procurement Agency has awarded Thales a 240 million Euro contract to extend the French army's RITA (Automated Integrated Communications Network). As part of the contract, named RITA N4, Thales will provide the army with high-performance Internet protocol communications systems for battalion command posts.