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EADS/MBDA team selected for UK Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) Programme

London, 26 June 2003

The UK Ministry of Defence yesterday announced that the EADS/MBDA team has been selected as one of two teams awarded a contract to begin development of a new integrated air defence command and control system for the UK armed forces.

Under the prime contract, worth approximately £38 million, the team comprising EADS Systems & Defence Electronics and MBDA will demonstrate a new Air Defence Command and Control System integrated with the MBDA Rapier Field Standard C air defence missile system and the Starstreak High Velocity Missile (HVM) which are both currently in service with the UK armed forces. The ADC4I (Air Defence Command, Control, Communications, Computing, Intelligence) solution, Caracal, is based on EADS products already in service with the German Armed Forces offering a low risk military off-the-shelf solution for the UK.

The Prime Contract, which will be finalised over the coming weeks, is for the Assessment Phase of the GBAD Phase 1 programme, under which the UK's air defence assets will be integrated with an advanced command and control system to protect UK forces against new airborne threats ranging from cruise missiles to UAVs. At the culmination of the two-year Assessment Phase EADS and MBDA will be required to submit a proposal for Demonstration and Manufacture. The total GBAD Phase 1 budget has been announced by the MOD as £1 billion. Under a second phase (Phase 2), the missile systems will be systematically updated or replaced. In January 2003, Caracal proved its ability to rapidly track aerial targets under a successful demonstration to the UK Ministry of Defence.

Tom Enders, President of EADS Defence & Civil Systems and designated head of the newly-formed Defence & Security division, said: "We are delighted that Caracal has been selected under GBAD Phase 1. EADS' and MBDA's engineering teams have worked together effectively to demonstrate a compliant and cost-effective solution to the UK's Defence Procurement Agency which guarantees full interoperability with the US, NATO and other Allied forces. Our skilled teams in Britain and Germany have joined forces to deliver a best value solution to the UK which draws on our capabilities across the EADS group. The project will benefit from the Surface-to-Air Missile Operation Center SAMOC developed by EADS for the German Air Force and from the opening of a programme office in Filton near Bristol.

Marwan Lahoud, MBDA's Chief Executive Officer, said: "MBDA's systems integration team will be providing the key expertise to integrate the UK missile systems Rapier and Starstreak with Caracal for the UK Armed Forces and we look forward to transferring EADS' C4I technical expertise to the UK thus enhancing the UK industrial base".

Notes to Editors:

The GBAD Programme

The UK's GBAD Phase 1 programme comprises procurement of a MOTS (Military-off-the-shelf) ADC4I (Air Defence C4I) system that integrates existing UK Air Defence assets - Rapier and HVM Starstreak - to achieve a network enabled capability. During the Assessment phase, two contractors are required to demonstrate integration of the ADC4I, Rapier and Starstreak in parallel programmes with a single contractor selected at the end of Assessment for the Demonstration and Manufacture programme. The EADS/MBDA team is one of two contenders selected for the Assessment phase. GBAD Phase 2 is a longer-term programme to upgrade and eventually replace existing weapon systems.

EADS/MBDA team solution for GBAD Phase 1

The EADS/MBDA GBAD Phase 1 solution, CARACAL, is based on SAMOC (Surface to Air Missile Operations Centre for the command and control of PATRIOT, HAWK, STINGER and GEPARD, in mixed and multi-national SAM clusters) and AAD (Army Air Defence (HFlaAF?Sys) specifically designed to control self-propelled ROLAND and GEPARD within the forward combat zone), both developed by EADS for the German Air Force and Army for the command and control of short, medium and long-range air defence systems in compliance with NATO Air Command & Control System (ACCS). The software building blocks from these two Military-Off-The-Shelf (MOTS) products, will be re-configured to meet the UK requirements for control of Rapier and the High Velocity Missile. This will produce a 'state of the art' design using COTS/MOTS technology. Full interoperability with US, NATO and other Allies is assured, minimising any risk inherent with new software developments.

During pre-assessment risk reduction activities EADS/MBDA conducted a link between the first prototype of Caracal and the Rapier FSC weapon system. During the demonstration, Caracal accelerated the tracking of aerial targets and directed the precision and timing of target engagement. The tests demonstrated the high standard and reliability of the technologies employed by Caracal as well as the effectiveness of technical co-operation between the EADS and MBDA engineering teams.

The EADS and MBDA partnership

The team comprises EADS and MBDA. EADS is the leading European supplier of C4I systems with over 20 years experience in the supply of naval and ground-based air defence systems to NATO forces. MBDA, the global missile systems prime contractor, is the UK's leading missile industrial partner with over 50 years experience in the design, development and manufacture of guided weapons for the British armed forces. The EADS / MBDA assessment team will be based at Filton, near Bristol. EADS is providing the core C4I product expertise from its Systems & Defence Electronics unit, one of the leading air defence systems suppliers. As the design authority for the Rapier Field Standard C short-range air defence weapon system in service with the Royal Air Force Air Defence Regiment and British Army's Royal Artillery, MBDA will develop the C4I weapon system interfaces under the programme. MBDA's role also includes system design and integration, performance modelling and assisting EADS in transferring C4I expertise to the UK.

The Assessment Phase for GBAD Phase 1 will last two years and will employ a team of around 50, based at Bristol. In Demonstration and Manufacture, the team will increase to a peak of 200 based in Filton, Stevenage and Lostock. Key manufacturing activities will include assembly into soft and hard skinned military vehicles, integration, commissioning and test.

For further information please contact:

EADS
Systems & Defence Electronics
Lothar Belz
Tel. (0731) 392-3681
E-Mail: lothar.belz@sysde.eads.net

MBDA
Carol Reed
Group Head of External Communications
Tel: 0044 (0) 207 451 6099
Fax: 0044 (0) 207 451 6089