Thales UK wins support contracts for Royal Navy submarines
01 April 2008
Thales UK has been awarded contracts initially worth £35m from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to provide long-term in-service support for the Royal Navy’s (RN’S) Trafalgar-, Vanguard- and Astute-class periscope systems. The contracts, which include the Contracting For Availability (CFA) programme, build on the existing support infrastructure in which the UK MoD has invested over many years.
The CFA programme is the result of Thales and the UK MoD adopting a partnering approach, with a joint In-Service Support Team (ISST) being established to ensure that CFA is managed and delivered successfully. The CFA contract will guarantee increased availability through an initial five-year support agreement for periscopes and optronics masts for the RN's fleet of nuclear-powered and strategic submarines.
Under the terms of the contracts, Thales' optronics facility in Glasgow will provide specialised skills and facilities to ensure optimal through-life capability management of
these complex systems. The contracts include design authority services, spare equipment / spare parts, repairs / replacement parts, modifications, engineering changes, field changes, overhauls, refurbishments and engineering services.
Thales has been the sole supplier of periscopes and optronic masts to the RN since 1917 and is involved in providing other sensors to the Astute-submarine programme, including electronic warfare systems (developed and supplied from Crawley), sonar systems (designed and manufactured in Cheadle Heath and Templecombe) and the periscopes and optronic masts (designed and built in Glasgow). Together, these sensor systems provide the ‘eyes and ears' of the submarine, making it a highly capable war fighting platform.
Alex Cresswell, Managing Director of the Thales' Land and Joint Systems business in the UK, says: "Thales has a unique heritage of providing enhanced capability and support to the Royal Navy, with whom we have invested substantially in a support capability for submarine visual systems. These contracts will make best use of both Thales' specialised skills and the navy's previous investment in infrastructure to ensure a cost-effective support solution."
Notes to editors
The optronic mast system was designed and built in Glasgow, and is the result of a 10-year, multi-million pound investment programme aimed at producing the next generation of submarine visual sensor systems.
The optronic mast replaces conventional hull-penetrating optical periscope systems with a non-hull penetrating, electronic imaging system. An electronic link from high-resolution cameras in the mast's head shows a picture of the above water area on screens in the submarine's operations centre. This improves the submarine's ability to remain stealthy and also improves navigational and operational safety.
About Thales and Thales UK
Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing defence, aerospace and security markets worldwide. Thales' 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 2007 revenues in excess of £8.3 bn.
Thales UK employs 9,000 staff based at more than 50 locations. In 2007 Thales UK's revenues were over £1 bn.
Press contacts:
Thales UK
Kathryn Bell
Tel: +44 (0)1932 824832
Mob: +44 (0)7813 903274
Email: kathryn.bell@thalesgroup.com
Thales Land & Joint Systems UK
Paul Mottershead
Mob: +44 (0)7711 039095
mailto:paul.mottershead@uk.thalesgroup.com
Submarine images available from Royal Navy website (www.royal-navy.mod.uk)
Periscope/optronic mast images available from Thales UK
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