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EADS: € 50 Million Contract for new Finnish Surveillance System

* Latest data fusion technology ensures information superiority
* Finland on forefront of introducing Network Enhanced Capabilities
* Close co-operation with Finnish companies

Ulm, 21 October 2004

EADS Defence Electronics will equip the Finnish Armed Forces with a software system for automatic processing and fusion of security-related data from a diversity of sources. The EADS Multi-Sensor Tracking System (MST) establishes a real-time nationwide tactical situation picture, giving the Finnish forces one of the first network-enhanced capabilities in Europe.

As reported by EADS on Thursday, the Finnish Air Force has awarded EADS Defence Electronics a contract valued at € 50 million to implement a distributed data fusion system based on state of the art computing and software technologies. The system will be implemented in stages, with full nationwide operational coverage being achieved by 2011. To implement this project, EADS has formed a consortium with Finnish partners Patria New Technologies, Instrumentointi, Datactica, Yomi Software and Elektrobit, in order to gain maximum benefit from the expertise available in Finnish industries and universities.

"Network Enhanced Capabilities are at the top of the defence and security agenda", explained Bernhard Gerwert, Head of EADS Defence Electronics. "Co-operation with our Finnish partners enables us to offer a solution tailored exactly to this requirement. I am convinced that this business partnership model will be attractive to other European states, too."

MST is part of a larger scale project led by the Finnish Air Force, whose goals are to create a network defence capability and to streamline the data management within all services of the Defence Forces. The network based and distributed architecture of MST enhances the survivability of the entire surveillance system. It uses information not only from air defence radars but also from civil aviation radar networks and other sensor systems. This enables the coordination of sensors, weapon systems and decision making at all levels, improving interoperability and protection against asymmetric threats.

The EADS system concept takes advantage from the company's experience in the NATO AWACS Mid-Term Modernisation programme, in which NATO’s fleet of E-3A aircraft are being equipped with EADS Defence Electronics' latest technology multi-sensor integration system. The same data fusion technology has been selected for the Australian "Wedgetail" and the Turkish "Peace Eagle" programmes.

EADS Defence Electronics, a major supplier of radar, avionics and electronic warfare systems, is an integrated business unit of EADS Defence and Security Systems Division (DS). DS, with revenues of over € 5.2 billion in 2003 and roughly 24,000 employees across nine nations, forms the defence pole within EADS. It offers integrated systems solutions to the new challenges confronting armed and homeland security forces. It is active in the areas of military aircraft, missile systems, Iintelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems with manned and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Battlefield Management Systems, defence electronics, sensors and avionics, and related services.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace and defence. In 2003, the Group generated revenues of over € 30 billion and employed a workforce of more than 109,000.

Press contact:
Lothar Belz
EADS Defence Electronics
Tel.: +49 (731) 392-3681
mailto: lothar.belz@eads.com