Thales contracted for OPVs for Omani Navy

Thales, VT and Thales Nederland signed a contract for the supply of sensors and other equipment to be installed on the OPVs VT is building for the Royal Omani Navy. 
 
Recently, VT Shipbuilding International in the United Kingdom and Thales Nederland signed a contract for the supply of radar, ESM, combat management and communication equipment that will be installed on the three Ocean Patrol Vessels (OPV) of the Khareef class that are currently being built by VT Shipbuilding for the Royal Navy of Oman. 
 
The equipment will include the SMART-S Mk2 surveillance radar, the STING electro-optic weapon control system, the Vigile 400 ESM; the TACTICOS combat management system and the Integrated Communication System. TACTICOS will run on the PC-Linux operating system, forming the basis for further evolution of this successful combat management system. 
 
The first OPV is scheduled for hand over to the Royal Navy of Oman by VT Shipbuilding mid 2010; the first set of Thales systems will be delivered to VT Shipbuilding in 2008. 
 
The selection was the result of a long negotiation process in which Thales faced fierce competition. The deciding factors were the system performance, the user-friendliness and the low maintenance requirements of the Thales systems that make use of solid-state transmitters. Other major factors for the selection were the positive experience the Royal Navy of Oman gained with the Thales systems on the Muheet-class ships, and Thales Nederland's excellent reputation as leading supplier of naval systems. This contract demonstrates the Omani Navy's trust in Thales Nederland's development capabilities, as Thales was short-listed before the first SMART-S Mk2 radar system was subjected to the Factory Acceptance Test. 
 
Thales is proud of its excellent relation with the Sultanate of Oman, and is looking forward to extending its presence in Oman and the Middle East region.  
 
Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing defence, aerospace and security markets worldwide. Thales's leading-edge technology is supported by 22,000 R&D engineers who offer a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy field-proven mission-critical information systems. Thales employs 68,000 people in 50 countries with forecast 2007 revenues in excess of EUR 12 billion. Thales Nederland, established in 1922, is one of the leading companies in integrated naval systems for surveillance, weapon control, combat management and system integration world-wide.