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Thales UK selected for Future Rapid Effect System Integrated Survivability Technology Demonstrator Programme

04 January 2006

Thales UK, teamed with Boeing, has been selected to lead the Integrated Survivability (IS) programme. The project will last 11 months and will define Integrated Survivability concepts for the full range of FRES roles. In August of this year Thales UK was awarded an Electronic Architecture TDP contract for FRES.

The FRES requirement sets demanding targets including limits to weight and size to allow rapid deployment by air, while at the same time calling for the delivery of military effect and survivability in excess of that currently available from vehicles of this class.

In order to provide enhanced survivability within the constraints of a medium platform, a wide range of advanced technologies will be assessed. These will include signature management, threat warning sensors, plus soft kill and hard kill countermeasures. The programme will assess the appropriate balance of survivability technologies for integrated survivability suites matched to the needs and constraints of the various FRES variants.

The Thales UK team also recognises that effective integrated mission survivability relies on more than the core contributing elements of an Integrated Survivability Suite. Situation Awareness (SA) provided by operating in a network enabled environment, mobility, lethality, mission planning and tactics all contribute to survivability. The potential solutions proposed by the Thales UK Team will recognise all of these aspects, within a "System of Systems" approach.

Boeing, Thales UK's team partner, is the Lead System Integrator for the US Future Combat System (FCS) and brings a broad range of capabilities and experience to the IS TDP programme.

The Thales UK Team will work with both the Defence Procurement Agency's (DPA) FRES Integrated Project Team (IPT) and the FRES Systems House, Atkins, to ensure that the FRES IS TDP successfully delivers evidence to support the FRES Main Gate.

Alex Dorrian, CEO Thales UK said: "This is another important step forward for the FRES programme which is key to the delivery of the UK vision of a medium weight capability. The award of a second TDP contract for Thales UK underlines our proven capabilities in land systems and puts us in a strong position on the FRES programme overall."

The Thales UK Team now enters the initial phase of the IS TDP. This will include a broad engagement with industry regarding technologies that may contribute to platform survivability.

About the FRES fleet

The IOC platforms will be utility vehicles performing Protected Mobility, Medical and Command & Control roles. Later specialist variants that will make up the Full Operating Capability. are likely to comprise variants including communications, reconnaissance, direct fire, indirect fire and guided weapons platforms, and mobility and counter mobility roles.
www.mod.uk/dpa/projects/fres/index.html

About Thales UK

Thales UK's defence activities encompass optronics, air defence, sensors, communications and naval systems. The company is the UK's second largest defence contractor and has been a supplier to the MoD since the First World War. Thales employs 10,000 staff in the UK and 60,000 people in 50 countries. In 2004, Thales UK's revenues were £1.1bn.
http://www.thalesgroup.co.uk/