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Thales Technologies Onboard the A400M

11 December 2009

Neuilly-sur-Seine, December 11, 2009 – Airbus Military today successfully achieved the first flight of the A400M, the multi-role transport aircraft that is set to redefine operational and humanitarian missions. The A400M is a larger and more flexible aircraft than traditional airlifters. It draws on state-of-the-art technology from the civil aerospace domain so as to travel faster, further and with a larger payload.

The A400M uses dual technologies to give pilots advanced functions that currently do not exist on other aircraft in this category. It is designed to certification standards for civil airspace and, when necessary, to military specification requirements. This platform uses the very latest technology from Airbus civil aircraft, including a glass cockpit and side-stick controllers for the fly-by-wire flight control system. However, unlike for civilian aircraft, A400M pilots will use head-up displays as primary flight instruments, enhanced by large multi-function displays and, on some models, by the Enhanced Vision System.

Thales, as a long-standing Airbus partner, is the main supplier of the A400M’s cockpit display systems. Its technology can also be found throughout the aircraft’s avionics system covering navigation, flight controls, electrical systems and utilities such door management systems. Thales systems comprise a significant percentage of the electronics onboard the A400M and as such the company is playing an important role in bringing the aircraft to market. An average of 300 Thales employees per year worked on developing systems onboard the A400M since the programme was launched in 2005.

Innovative Thales solutions provide crews with all the onboard intelligence they need for flying this aircraft and the company has also supplied a full flight simulator for A400M crew training. The cutting-edge and cost effective solutions inherited from the latest Airbus aircraft models, upon which Thales is also onboard, place the A400M as an airlifter in a class of its own.

Thales and the Cockpit

Innovation and Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA)
The A400M is the first military aircraft ever to be fitted with the Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) suite, a major technical evolution of global importance developed for A380 and tailored to the specific requirements of the A400M. The IMA has been adapted to meet military requirements for resistance to higher vibration levels, higher electromagnetic compatibility
and a critical lightning protection system.

IMA is a leap-ahead technological innovation, with all onboard computing modules networked and able to support different applications. The result is a substantial improvement in computing power, reliability, maintainability, volume, weight and scalability.

Through its IMA platform, Thales has halved the number of parts required, leading to significant gains in direct maintenance costs as communication between the different systems is optimised.

Innovation and Control Display System
The integration of the Thales-designed Control Display System (CDS) on the A400M marks the first time that interactive and re-configurable screens are used on a military transport aircraft.

The CDS is designed for flexibility and features eight large interactive 6” x 8” LCD screens that are NVG compatible and are derived from the system developed for the A380. The basic A400M CDS is comprised of control panels, including two Keyboard and Cursor Control Units (KCCU) and two Glareshield Control Panels (GCP). These give A400M pilots quick, intuitive access to all navigation functions, a key advantage during critical flight phases.

An optional third crewmember station onboard the A400M features one LCD screen and an additional three control panels.

Innovation and the Head-Up Display
The A400M is the first Airbus aircraft to be pre-fitted with the Head-Up Display (HUD), by contrast with the A380, on which the HUD is an option for customers. The A400M’s HUD will be certified as a Primary Flight Display (PFD). This means A400M pilots will rely on the HUD for flying the aircraft during high workload procedures such as low-level flights.

The HUD is capable of displaying night vision and bad weather flight videos via the Thales Enhanced Vision System. While the HUD computers for A380 and A400M are identical, the mechanical and optical elements on the A400M’s HUD are customised for compatibility with military Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) and helmets.

Innovation and Enhanced Vision System
Thales has designed prototypes of its Enhanced Vision System (EVS) that are ready for inflight performance verification onboard the A400M. The Thales EVS makes a crucial contribution to aircraft safety and security by helping pilots to see better and further in low visibility conditions. This system will increase the operational availability of the A400M, allowing it to take part in operational or humanitarian missions despite difficult weather conditions.

With the help of infrared detectors, the EVS provides flight crews with high-definition imagery of the environment outside the aircraft at any time of day or night. This imagery is projected onto the pilot’s Head-up Display (HUD), or onto the multi-function display, and the system is configured so that images are superimposed over the pilot’s normal vision.

The EVS provides improved situation awareness for the pilot by means of advanced imaging capabilities that increase safety throughout all flight phases – taxiing, takeoff, medium/low altitude flight, approach and landing.

Thales and Mission Systems

Innovation and Mission Systems
Thales is currently developing the A400M’s Flight Management System (FMS), set to provide a highly effective interface between the pilot and aircraft. FMS consists of avionics that control navigation and flight planning for the A400M. This system draws on data, derived from sensors, to guide the aircraft along its flight plan and to assist pilots in modifying their flight path as circumstances change.

Thales designed FMS onboard the A400M to meet the specific requirements of a military airlifter for supporting all cargo, humanitarian and operational missions. Its innovative architecture allows pilots to manage, within the same flight plan, all civil and tactical phases of flight so as to achieve their mission, including low-level flight capability.

FMS features the latest Thales innovations in hardware and software to reduce pilot workloads and thereby increase situation awareness.

Two Thales Multi-Mode Receivers (MMRs) are connected to the FMS onboard the A400M. These receivers, which meet both civil and military requirements and regulations, provide critical information for en-route navigation and precision landing. In addition to the traditional Instrument Landing System and GPS, the Multi-Mode Receiver brings new innovative functions such as the Microwave Landing System (MLS), which enables precision landing on tactical airfields, and the differential GPS landing system, which is the first technology of its kind to appear on a military craft.

Thales also developed the TACtical Air Navigation (TACAN) unit for the A400M, following civil standards of development and NATO standards for interoperability. This equipment is used as an air navigation aid that interprets beacons so as to determine the exact position of the aircraft. Thales has significantly reduced the weight and power consumption of the TACAN for the A400M, while ensuring a high standard of reliability.

Thales designed the Centralised Crypto Management System (CCMS) found in the cockpit of the A400M. This system rationalises the process of loading and erasing cryptographic keys to equipment (radios, IFF, MIDS, GPS, etc).

Thales and Missile Warning Systems

Advanced missile warning systems and counter-measures play a vital role in countering the increasing occurrence of missile threats. Thales and EADS co-developed the A400M’s missile warning system, to detect, track and warn the pilot in case of hostile missiles. The passive missile warning system, MIRAS (Multi-colour Infrared Alerting Sensors), offers a very large hemispheric range of self protection coverage onboard the A400M to thwart such threats.

MIRAS provides superior protection for the aircraft by greatly reducing the occurrence of false alarms, while still providing excellent detection. This innovative solution consists of three sensors, equipped with next generation bi-spectral detectors, to offer protection surrounding the entire aircraft. These sensors are linked to the MIRAS processor, which works in close combination with the A400M’s main DASS processor.

These sensors draw on band subtraction algorithms, which provide the capability to eliminate the background (air, land and sea) and sun reflections while revealing threat hot spots. The system is designed to perform within a short reaction time in tandem with decoy dispensers. The MIRAS warning system will also designate infrared missile threats to DIRCM (Directed Infra Red Counter-Measures) equipment, currently being developed by EADS, Thales, Sagem and Diehl. FLASH DIRCM is a state-of-the-art infrared countermeasure system based on closed loop tracking technology that carries out threat confirmation, identification, jamming and defeat assessment. Combined with the DASS processor, this will improve protection of the A400M against present and future generations of infrared-guided missiles.

Thales and Power Generation

The Thales-Goodrich joint venture, Aerolec, is supplying the electrical power generation system onboard the A400M. This system is designed to meet a total power supply requirement of 400kVA, representing a significant increase in power supply strength compared to previous generation air lifters.

Thales is a technology leader in onboard variable frequency electrical power generation. The solution for the A400M is based on variable-frequency generators, as opposed to the conventional hydromechanical constant-speed drives, which are comparatively bulky, heavy and complex. The benefits of the new-generation system include space and weight savings,
enhanced reliability and lower ownership costs.

The aerospace industry is increasingly recognising that variable frequency is a key enabling technology behind the “more electric aircraft” concept that is driving the development of even greener aircraft for the future.

Thales is very proud to be onboard the A400M and to have worked alongside Airbus to tailor the very latest technological innovations to meet the needs of the different nations involved in the A400M program.