Second Batch of Simulators for Eurofighter

Eurofighter Simulation Systems (ESS) has awarded Indra, Spain’s leading IT multinational and one of the main players in Europe, a EUR 29 million contract to produce the second batch of Eurofighter simulators. This second batch involves the production of 15 new simulators for the four nations that form the core of the programme: the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain.

Under the terms of the contract, Indra will produce the instructor position for six of the new ASTA (Aircrew Synthetic Training Aids) simulators for the EF-2000, the alternative aircraft for all the new simulators, and will integrate and start up the two new Spanish simulators that are to be installed at the Morón and/or Albacete air bases.

The so-called alternative aircraft, designed by Indra, is a unique feature of the ASTA simulators, and can be transformed into 15 different types of aircraft so that an instructor at the controls of an ASTA can pass off as another plane. This is how it appears to a student Eurofighter pilot training on another simulator connected with it on line. In this way, the trainee receives more realistic instruction by fighting an enemy plane or collaborating with a friendly aircraft.

The simulators will be used in the mission flight training required of pilots of the EF2000 European fighter plane for the Royal Air Force in the UK, the German Luftwaffe, the Italian Aeronáutica and the Spanish Air Force. The simulator and aircraft have also been exported to the Austrian Air Force. The simulators reduce the cost of training fighter pilots and improve the operational security of these complex aircraft. Moreover, they help ensure pilots are ready to fight in all conditions and circumstances.

The ASTA project is considered the most complex simulation system created to date since the simulators will be interconnected. Consequently it will be possible to carry out joint exercises involving different simulators at air bases in Spain, Germany, the UK and Italy. The programme will end in 2011, when more than 25 simulators will be installed and interconnected.

Indra’s involvement in the Eurofighter project

Indra was selected by the four countries participating in the Eurofighter programme to head the macro project to fully simulate the European fighter plane. The Spanish company leads ESS (Eurofighter Simulation Systems GmbH), a European joint venture formed in Munich for this purpose, which also includes Thales of the UK, RDE/CAE of Germany and Selex-Galileo of Italy.

Moreover, the company is one of the leading suppliers of avionics systems used in the EF-2000 and is providing its own automatic maintenance systems for the defence electronics and avionics of this platform.

A world leader in simulation

Aside from its leadership role in the Eurofighter project and prominent position in the Spanish market, Indra also exports its simulation technology throughout the world. Particularly noteworthy is its key position in the US, where it is the only non-US company selected to participate in the US Navy’s Training Systems Contract II (TSC II) programme. Last year the company was awarded the contract to upgrade the simulators of the AV-8B Harrier under this programme. Indra developed these simulators, which the US Navy’s pilots regard as “the best in the world.”

In the area of Defence, Indra has also implemented simulation projects for the Portuguese Air Force, the Italian Navy, the Venezuelan National Guard and the Chilean Air Force, while in the field of civil aviation it has worked in a number of markets including Indonesia, Malaysia and China. The company has also developed simulators for underground and overline trains, buses, port cranes, heavy machinery, lorries and fire engines.

Indra is Spain’s foremost IT company and one of the main players in Europe and Latin America. It is second largest European company in its sector by market cap and one of the top Spanish companies in R&D spend. Revenue in 2007 reached EUR 2,167 M, of which one third was generated abroad. Indra employs over 24,000 people and has customers in more than 90 countries.