Military

Thales completes major safety installation programme at UK MoD airfields

19 October 2009

Thales UK today announces that it has successfully installed 25 Instrument Landing Systems (ILS)* and Distance Measuring Equipment (DME)** at 23 locations across the UK and at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus and Mount Pleasant Airfield, Falkland Islands under the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD’s) ILS sustainment programme. The project also replaced existing off-site marker beacons with modern DME that is now located on the airfield.

The first installation to be completed was at RAF Waddington in July 2007. Thales and the MoD project team cooperated to ensure that remaining sites were all installed on schedule. The aggressive timescales required Thales to conduct three installations simultaneously at various points in the programme.

This major achievement marks the end of the programme to install ILS/DME capability throughout the MoD. Thales is now responsible for the through-life support for all 25 systems under Contractor Logistic Support arrangements up until March 2017, at which point the Future Precision Approach & Landing System (FPALS) is planned to enter service.

Marion Broughton, Vice President of Thales UK’s air systems business, says: “The successful completion of this programme was extremely important in reinforcing our strong relationship with the Royal Air Force and the UK MoD.”

Craig Marshall, the Programme Manager from the UK MoD, says: “The UK MoD would like to thank Thales UK for their close cooperation and support during the course of this important project.”
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Notes to editors:
*The ILS system is an indispensable aid to approach and landing, especially under poor weather and visibility conditions. The system provides pilots with information to enable guidance during descent and with deviation information from a defined approach path down to and along the runway surface.

**DME systems provide the pilot with distance information between the aircraft and the location of the runway threshold.

About Thales and Thales UK
Thales is a global technology leader for the Aerospace, Space, Defence, Security and Transportation markets. In 2008 the company generated revenues of £10.2 billion, with 68,000 employees in 50 countries. With its 25,000 engineers and researchers, Thales has a unique capability to design, develop and deploy equipment, systems and services that meet the most complex security requirements. Thales has an exceptional international footprint, with operations around the world working with customers as local partners.

Thales UK employs 8,500 staff based at more than 40 locations. In 2008 Thales UK's revenues were over £1.4 bn.