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Thales sees success in the first flight of its Maritime Surveillance Programme in Turkey

05 July 2007

The Meltem contract, one of Europe's largest maritime surveillance programmes, was awarded to Thales in 2003 and involves the supply of nineteen aircraft equipped with sophisticated maritime patrol and surveillance systems for Turkey's Navy and Coast Guard.

Maritime surveillance aircraft are deployed for monitoring territorial waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), for detecting all forms of illicit trade and trafficking, accidental pollution and oil dumping, and for search and rescue operations.

This latest generation system will provide the customer with an effective maritime patrol and surveillance capability for the coming years. Nine systems will be integrated into existing CN235 aircraft operated by Turkish armed forces and a further ten into Alenia ATR72.

This is the first aircraft within the programme to be fitted with maritime surveillance capabilities and its Flight Physics configuration includes the Flight Test Instrumentation to perform aerodynamic/ aircraft performance tests. This first flight is a major milestone demonstrating that Thales and its local partners have successfully designed and implemented the related modifications for an airworthy aircraft; and have reached in the process a level of maturity recognized by the French Procurement Agency (DGA), the Authority of Qualification.

Emmanuel Grave, Vice President and General Manager of Thales Aerospace commented, "This emblematic programme is well on track. We have enjoyed exceptionally good test results and we're looking forward to delivering this advanced surveillance and patrol system, especially developed for the Turkish Navy and Coast Guard at the beginning of 2010. "

The Thales solution is based on Amascos (Airborne Maritime Situation and COntrol System). The system is designed around a tactical command subsystem with a full range of latest-generation Thales sensors (radar, ESM and acoustic) and communication systems.

In addition to the Meltem programme, Amascos has been chosen by the Indonesian, Japanese, Pakistani and Malaysian forces.

As prime contractor for the Meltem programme, Thales is coordinating all the contributions by industry partners in France and other countries. Today the company is working hand in hand with Turkish industry, particularly in advanced technology areas. TAI (Turkish Aerospace Industry), in partnership with IAe (Indonesian Aerospace), have specified and are carrying out aircraft modifications. Aselsan is supplying equipment including self-protection systems, navigation systems, FLIRs, displays and radios. Havelsan is playing an active role in developing the tactical command system software.

About Thales
Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing defence, aerospace and security markets worldwide. Thales's leading-edge technology is supported by 22 000 R&D engineers who offer a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy field-proven mission-critical information systems. To this end, the group's civil and military businesses develop in parallel and share a common base of technologies to serve a single objective: the security of people, property and nations. The group builds its growth on its unique multi-domestic strategy based on trusted partnerships with national customers and market players, while leveraging its global expertise to support local technology and industrial development. Thales employs 68,000 people in 50 countries with forecast 2007 revenues in excess of € 12 billion.