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Airbus Military Selects Thales for A400M Display Systems

21 July 2004

Thales has been chosen by Airbus Military to provide the cockpit displays for the new A400M military transport aircraft.

Thales and its Germany subsidiary Diehl Avionik Systeme will supply the Control and Display System (CDS) for the A400M cockpit. Derived directly from the A380 display system currently under development, this display marks a major technological advance for military transport aircraft.

The cockpit display provides a single integrated interface between pilots and the aircraft. It performs all display and crew dialogue functions, spanning both basic aircraft functionalities and those implemented during tactical flight phases.

The Control and Display System comprises eight or nine large-dimension, multi-function, interactive LCD screens with 6x8 inch useful display surfaces, (compared with six in previous generation systems). This will be the first use of interactive screens on a military transport aircraft: three control systems with mouse/keyboard interfaces give pilots a fast, intuitive access, which is especially important during critical flight phases.

This new generation of LCD screens is based on a technology in which Thales has continually sharpened its expertise for over 15 years. Thales is the only European company with its own proprietary LCD flat-screen technology for aerospace applications. These new display systems will be developed in Bordeaux, the Thales center of excellence for man-machine interfaces, which employs 750 specialists.

This major business win for the A400M program underlines the ability of the Thales group to deliver cutting-edge systems that combine superior ergonomics and reliability. These systems are being integrated in new air transport environments, thus guaranteeing enhanced safety and flexibility, which is essential to meet the challenges of increasing air traffic and the requirements of military operations.

At the 2001 Paris Air Show Airbus announced the choice of Thales as supplier of cockpit displays for the A380. This latest contract consolidates Thales' position as the premier avionics supplier for the Airbus family of aircraft.

"The commonality of the technologies used for the A380 and A400M systems provides economies of scale and leverages the full benefits of the technological and industrial maturity of the equipment, as well as logistics and support synergies," said François Quentin, Thales Senior Vice-President, Aerospace.