Slew of offerings from Thales
[ By R. Chandrakanth in Paris ]
French aerospace and defence major Thales used its home turf to great advantage displaying a host of products and solutions, both for the military and civil markets. Thales began with a bang at the Paris Air Show, unveiling STAR NG, a revolutionary new-generation air traffic control (ATC) radar. STAR NG is an S-Band primary surveillance radar (PSR) which can perform all the operational primary surveillance requirements of both civil and military air traffic control. The technological breakthroughs developed for the STAR NG allow the radar to address some of the key challenges of the industry. Most notably the system provides increased mitigation of windfarms, as well drastically reducing the impact on operational performance caused by the noise of 4G networks.
Thales had some wins with regard to its Avant in-flight entertainment system. On day one, Kuwait Airways newest fleet of A330200 will be fitted with Avant. The programme is part of a total order of five A330-200. Similarly, Oman Air and Air Caraibes announced that they had selected Avant for their aircraft. Oman Air order covers 16 B737, 3 A330s and 6 B787, while Air Caraibes, which is the launch customer in France for A350 XWB, is installing Avant on six of the new fleet.
Passengers will have access to a wide selection of on-demand entertainment and the latest generation of applications on the market including the Thales acclaimed 3D Maps.
Electronic Flight Bag
Thales launched a new generation TopWings Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) software application suite designed by pilots for pilots. This revolutionary product will be designed in cooperation with IT experts and pilots from Air France and numerous other airlines to gather their insights and understand their operational needs. Air France has announced its intention to cooperate with Thales on the development of this solution. The airline intends to equip its entire fleet with this new EFB software solution. Other airlines of the Air France-KLM group have expressed their interest for the TopWings solution.
“We have designed an aircraft-agnostic EFB system that not only can be fully integrated across the fleet and connected to the ground but also plays the role of a digital assistant to the pilot. We are delighted to work with the group Air France-KLM on this project.” Daniel Malka, Thales Vice President, Avionics Services.
Military Wins
On the military side, Thales had wins for its I-Master SAR/GMTI radars from the Royal Jordanian Air Force. The selection follows the successful delivery and installation of the radar onto their Royal Jordanian Air Force AC-235 aircraft in 2014.
Thales and Textron AirLand announced that they have successfully jointly integrated Thales’ I-Master radar on to Textron AirLand’s Scorpion Jet(tm). The addition of the radar into the Scorpion’s mission system complements the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) sensor suite which already includes a high-end EO/ IR capability.
Joins Forces with DCI
Thales and DCI have joined forces to deliver high-level training in electronic warfare (EW). Through this partnership, the two companies will combine their skills and offer comprehensive and innovative solutions to even better meet the needs and expectations of military customers around the world.
They have developed a catalogue of common training modules focusing on the various aspects of EW today. Thales will contribute its technical expertise. The company develops, delivers and supports state-of-the-art EW systems for more than 50 countries. It also designs EW simulators and provides training in the use and maintenance of these systems worldwide.
Merry Michaux, Vice President for Thales’s military aerospace support and services business, said: “Our complementary skills and flexible approach will ensure our customers benefit from real technical and operational efficiency as they seek to maximise their electronic warfare capabilities. Thales’s presence in 56 countries and close working relations with operational armed forces personnel will further extend the partnership’s international reach to better serve customers and meet their specific national requirements.”