Tag: Thales

While large caliber weapons such as the M142 HIMARS and its M31 GMLRS rockets are making the headlines in the Russian-Ukrainian War, smaller, more agile guided rockets have evolved, utilizing the laser-guided light rockets. Initially, these weapons utilized standard launchers, but recent developments from Thales, BAE Systems, and L3Harris have optimized the use of such weapons by helicopters, special operations forces, and unmanned vehicles.

NATO has selected Thales to provide the first certified defense cloud solution that can be deployed in the theatre of operations in less than 24 hours. Thales was selected after a worldwide competitive tendering process .

The French Delegation for Armaments (DGA) has qualified the command post vehicle (EPC) variant of the GRIFFON vehicle, destined to equip the Scorpion regiments in the French and Belgian Armies. The SCORPION program calls for the delivery of 333 EPCs, half of which will be delivered by 2025. The arrival of the GRIFFON EPC is complementary to the GRIFFON VTT Félin, with the goal of projecting a joint battle group (GTIA) into a foreign theatre of operations by 2021.

The Spanish electronics consortium Indra announced it will lead the CROWN research and development project to develop and equip European fighters and other aircraft with a combined, software-defined radar, communications, and electronic defense enabling future aircraft to dominate the radioelectronic space.

The UK Ministry of Defence has chosen Leonardo/Thales protection system to protect the RAF Shadow ISTAR fleet. This single-source selection by the MOD follows the recent SALT III international trials hosted by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration in Sweden. There, the integrated Miysis/Elix-IR system, using a jamming waveform developed by the UK MOD’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, proved its ability to defeat Infra-Red missiles in live-fire exercises.

The French armament directorate (DGA) has launched a development program that will modernize the MICA air/air and surface/air missile, introducing a new generation of the weapon (MICA NG).

Highlights of day II at Eurosatory - as viewed by defense-Update

The British Ministry of Defense has selected four groups to bid for its upcoming Air Support to Defense Operational Training (ASDOT) requirement. Each of the groups selected for the program has teamed with training services specialists from the USA, Canada, and Israel to deliver adversary aircraft and weapons. The winning group will operate various high-performance jets simulating aggressor fighter and attack planes, cruise missiles and electronic combat to training British air, land and naval forces. A final selection is expected in September 2018 followed by the contract award in 2020 that could be worth up to £1.5 billion over 15 years.

BAE Systems, Pearson Engineering and Thales UK have signed agreements with the German-Dutch ARTEC consortium, as partners for the production of BOXER. The agreement paves the way for significant local manufacturing of the vehicle and its systems in the UK, should the BOXER be selected by the Ministry of Defense as the British Army’s next generation Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV).

Thales' F90MBR is a Modular Bullpup Rifle, based on the proven F90, designed to support the modern integrated solider. Photo: Thales

Britain's electronics expert QinetiQ has developed a variant of its AS3 communications intelligence (COMINT) system designed specifically for unmanned aerial vehicles. Following an integration,...

The British Defence Minister Harriett Baldwin announced a £269M (US$327 million) deal for the procurement of 10 aerial surveillance systems to operate on the Royal Navy new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers. Initial deliveries are expected in 2018 with initial operational capability in 2020.

The French defense procurement agency (DGA) selected Thales to provide up to 70 ‘Spy'Ranger’ Mini-Drone Reconnaissance Systems (SMDR) for the French Army. Induction of the first batch of 35 systems is expected to begin in 2019. The total cost of the contract, with options, could reach €104.3 million (US $108.8 million).

Almost 50 unmanned systems from the UK, USA, Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, and Austria participated in a month-long war game for robots, organized by the Royal Navy. Spanning air, surface and the undersea domain, ‘Unmanned Warrior 2016’ (UW16), has been in the making for almost two years, with dozens of players from different nations invited to take part in this unique operational demonstration, held as part of NATO’s Joint Warrior exercise.