• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Thales reaches key milestones in its Maritime Surveillance Program for Turkey

29 April 2008

Neuilly-sur-Seine, 29 April 2008 - Thales today announced that the Turkish SSM (Under Secretariat for Defense Industries) has accepted the first Thales Maritime Patrol Mission Equipment Package that will be installed by Alenia on the first of ten ATR-72 within the framework of the Meltem II programme.

The Meltem II programme, which includes the supply of a further nine CN235 aircraft equipped with sophisticated maritime patrol and surveillance systems for Turkey's Navy and Coast Guards, is also on track and on schedule. Thales as prime contractor and the Turkish companies involved with the systems integration are validating the different milestones in line with the schedule defined by the customer.

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, acoustic and communication systems).

After the first flight of the Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA) #1 in Ankara in June 2007, the first flight of the Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) #1 is planned for Summer 2008.

Notes to editors

The Meltem contract, awarded to Thales, is one of Europe's largest maritime patrol and surveillance programmes. Maritime surveillance aircraft are deployed for monitoring the 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.

The Turkish Coast Guard will operate a mission system, which is a subset of those belonging to the Navy. There will be no weapons aboard the Maritime Surveillance Aircraft, other specific functions will be added and the mission system modified accordingly. Nine systems will be integrated into existing CN235 aircraft, six for the Turkish Navy and three for the Turkish Coast-Guard (Meltem II). Then, a further ten will be integrated into Alenia ATR72 for the Turkish Navy (Meltem III).

About Thales

Thales is a leading international group, addressing Defence, Aerospace and Security markets worldwide. Thales's expertise in its core markets spans the entire value chain, providing all the capabilities its customers require, from equipment and systems to comprehensive support services, and including prime contracting on large-scale programmes. 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 revenues in 2007 of € 12.3 billion.

Press contact: Natasha Harvey - + 33 (0)1 34 81 40 50