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Thales UK wins £63m Future Lynx deal

17 July 2006

~ Thales UK to supply AgustaWestland with avionics for 70 Future Lynx helicopters~

Farnborough Air Show – 17 July 2006 – Thales UK will play a major role in the Future Lynx helicopter programme following a ten-year, £63 million contract from AgustaWestland for avionics systems for the 70 aircraft being procured by the MoD.

The Future Lynx will replace the 30 year-old Lynx helicopter, a key component of the British Army and Navy's defence capabilities. Based on the Super Lynx 300, the helicopter is due to start flight tests in 2009 and enter service in 2014.

The new helicopter is a more capable aircraft than the current Lynx and features an upgraded airframe, engines and avionics. Expected service duration is 25 years.

Thales' aerospace activities in the UK will provide the core of the avionics management, communications and navigation systems, as well as taking responsibility for the integration of Commercial Off The Shelf equipment within the Navigation and Communications sub-systems. The Thales Secure Communications Control System (SCCS), which is at the heart of the communications system, is from the family of TopSIS products. TopSIS is the only SCCS equipment with high grade accreditation from the UK authorities for secure communications. It is already on the UK Lynx Mark 8 and ASTOR programs, as well as the Australian MRH-90 helicopters and Multi-Role Transport and Tanker aircraft.

"Our long-running history with AgustaWestland and the Lynx will be instrumental in ensuring the next generation of the aircraft leads its class, well into the future," said Richard Deakin, managing director of Thales' aerospace activities in the UK. "We will be working with a number of suppliers to ensure the enhanced avionics system lives up to expectations - the Lynx plays an important role, particularly in maritime warfare, so the Future Lynx project is crucial."

NOTES TO EDITORS
Thales in the UK is a major electronics and systems group serving defence, aerospace, security and services markets. Thales employs 9,000 staff in the UK and 60,000 people in 50 countries. In 2005, Thales UK's revenues were over £1bn.