The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded a multi-million pound contract to supply the first full-flight simulator (FFS) for the Royal Air Force A400M military transport aircraft, recently designated Atlas by the European purchasing nations.
The FFS employs state-of-the-art visual and motion technology developed and produced by Thales UK at its facility in Crawley, West Sussex.
This order confirms Thales as a leading military training service provider…”
It is expected that a contract for a further FFS will follow, with both simulators being delivered to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. They will be maintained through a training service by a joint venture company comprising Thales and Airbus Military.
Marion Broughton, head of Thales UK’s military aerospace business, says: “This order confirms Thales as a leading military training service provider for the UK MoD. The order secures more than 50 jobs for Thales UK and its supply chain, and a further 300 UK jobs expected to be secured once the long-term training service is in place”.
Thales, as a long-standing Airbus partner, is the main supplier of the A400M’s cockpit display systems. Its technology can also be found throughout the aircraft’s avionics system, covering navigation, flight controls, electrical systems and utilities such as door management systems.
Thales UK provides military training and simulation services for a number of the MoD’s aircraft, both rotary and fixed-wing, including the Lynx helicopter, the Tornado GR4 and Voyager (Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft).
This follows on from orders for FFS from Spain, France and Germany.
The A400M is an all new military airlifter designed to meet the needs of the world’s Armed Forces in the 21st Century. Thanks to its most advanced technologies, it is able to fly higher, faster and further, while retaining high manoeuvrability, low speed, and short, soft and rough airfield capabilities. It combines both tactical and strategic/logistic missions, while being also able to be used as a tanker plane. With its cargo hold specifically designed to carry the outsize equipment needed today for both military and humanitarian disaster relief missions, it can bring this material quickly and directly to where it is most needed.
Conceived to be highly reliable, dependable, and with a great survivability, the multipurpose A400M can do the job of three of today’s different aircraft models in a single one. This means smaller fleets and less investment from the operator. Able to do more with less, the A400M is the most cost efficient and versatile airlifter ever conceived and absolutely unique in its capabilities.
Thales is a global technology leader for the defence & security and the aerospace & transport markets. In 2011 the company generated revenues of £11.4 bn (€13 bn), with 67,000 employees in 56 countries. With its 22,500 engineers and researchers, Thales has a unique capability to design, develop and deploy equipment, systems and services that meet the most complex security requirements. Thales has an exceptional international footprint, with operations around the world working with customers as local partners.
Thales UK employs 8,000 staff based at 35 locations. In 2011 Thales UK’s revenues were around £1.4 bn.
