Cubic to Participate in MoD's WATCHKEEPER Programme.LONDON -- Today the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the selection of Thales UK as the preferred bidder for the next phase of the acquisition cycle of the WATCHKEEPER programme. Cubic Defense Applications is a key part of the Thales UK team selected for the programme. WATCHKEEPER will provide the UK armed forces with an essential Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR (programming, tool) ISTAR - An experimental IPSE from Imperial Software Technology. ) capability based on a tactical unmanned air vehicle (UAV UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle UAV Unmanned Air Vehicle UAV Unmanned Aerospace Vehicle UAV Unmanned Airborne Vehicle UAV Uninhabited Air Vehicle UAV Urban Assault Vehicle UAV Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle (less common) ) system and will be a key component of the UK's drive for Network Enabled Capability (NEC (NEC Corporation, Tokyo, www.nec.com, www.necus.com) An electronics conglomerate known in the U.S. for its monitors. In Japan, it had the lion's share of the PC market until the late 1990s (see PC 98). NEC was founded in Tokyo in 1899 as Nippon Electric Company, Ltd. ). Gerald Dinkel, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Cubic Defense Applications, said, "Cubic employs more than 5,000 employees worldwide -- with nearly 600 employees in the UK -- and the selection of our team for this prestigious programme is great news. WATCHKEEPER is a very important programme for the British armed forces and as such this decision is a strong vote of confidence in the Thales UK team and Cubic. The UAV systems market is growing strongly and the selection of our team positions Cubic well to win even further work in export orders." Cubic will be providing its spectrally-efficient Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL TCDL Tactical Common Data Link (US DoD Joint) ) and High Integrity Data Link (HIDL) into Thales UK's WATCHKEEPER programme. The TCDL will enable WATCHKEEPER to transfer time-critical information from multiple UAVs operating in the same geographical area without mutual interference. The HIDL, developed for command-and-control of multiple UAVs from a single ground station, provides a versatile, programmable back-up link. The Thales UK WATCHKEEPER solution will create or sustain up to 2100 jobs, all of which will be in the UK. These high technology jobs in systems integration, prime contracting, engineering and manufacturing will be within Thales UK, the Thales WATCHKEEPER team companies and throughout the UK supply chain. Exports are expected to increase this total to 2500. Thales UK intends to supply WATCHKEEPER and address the rapidly growing worldwide UAV systems market, estimated to be worth around GBP GBP In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the British Pound. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 3bn over the next 10 years. The operational benefits of the Thales UK team solution include: a fully integrated ground environment; higher endurance, lower attrition Attrition The reduction in staff and employees in a company through normal means, such as retirement and resignation. This is natural in any business and industry. Notes: air vehicles; a minimal logistic footprint and the ability to deploy a full system to theatre in a single C-130 Hercules aircraft. The Thales UK led team includes the Thales/Elbit JV company, Elbit, Marshall SV, LogicaCMG, Vega, Boeing, Cobham, Cubic, Supacat, QinetiQ and Praxis prax·is n. pl. prax·es 1. Practical application or exercise of a branch of learning. 2. Habitual or established practice; custom. .
Notes to editors
-- WATCHKEEPER is due to enter service with the armed forces in 2006
for 30 years.
-- The full WATCHKEEPER solution will be on display at Farnborough
International 19-25 July 2004.
-- The full text of the MoD's WATCHKEEPER announcement is available
at www.mod.uk.
-- For more information on WATCHKEEPER:
www.thalesgroup.co.uk/watchkeeper.
Thales UK team members and WATCHKEEPER specific locations are:
-- Thales UK: Crawley, Wells, Leicester, Glasgow, Bury St. Edmunds,
St Asaph, Taunton, Staines
Prime contractor; sensor payloads; mission planning management,
exploitation and communications; through life support
-- JV Co: (Thales/Elbit JV) Leicester, Cardigan Bay
Tactical UAV sub-systems supplier
-- Elbit Systems: Lichfield (UAV Engines Ltd)
UAV design, UAV engines
-- LogicaCMG: Leatherhead
Command and battle space management systems and applications
-- Marshall SV: Cambridge
Ground station shelters and support
-- Cobham: Wimborne, Dorset
-- Cubic Corp: Greenford
Data links
-- Boeing: London
US/UK future interoperability support and scheduled
technology/capability upgrades
-- Vega: Welwyn Garden City, Bristol, Fareham
Training partner
-- QinetiQ: Boscombe Down, Malvern, Farnborough
Airworthiness consultancy and image data management
-- Praxis: Bath
Programme safety consultancy
Ground vehicle
-- Supacat: Honiton
Major sub-assemblies and components
About Thales UK Thales UK's defence activities encompass optronics Optronics, or optoelectronics in its less abbreviated form, is the science and technology making use of optics and electronics. It is sometimes synonymous with photonics, however the latter has a lesser emphasis on electronics. , air defence, sensors, communications and naval systems. The company is the UK's second largest defence contractor and has been a supplier to the MoD since the First World War. Thales employs 11,000 staff in the UK and 62,000 people in 50 countries. In 2003, Thales UK's revenues were GBP1.2bn. www.thalesgroup.co.uk About Cubic Defense Applications Cubic Defense Applications, a major segment of San Diego-based Cubic Corp, provides realistic combat training systems for military forces as well as simulation, force modernization modernization Transformation of a society from a rural and agrarian condition to a secular, urban, and industrial one. It is closely linked with industrialization. As societies modernize, the individual becomes increasingly important, gradually replacing the family, , educational services, operations & maintenance and manufacturing services. The group also supplies products and systems for C4ISR C4ISR Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance C4ISR Command, Control, Communications, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance C4ISR Command Control Communications Computers Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance) applications, search and rescue avionics avionics (ā'vēŏn`ĭks), electronic instruments used in air or space flight; also the design and production of such instruments. Early planes had few instruments, but as aviation and aircraft became more complex, so did instrumentation. and radio communications for military and civil markets. Cubic Transportation Systems, another major segment of Cubic Corp., designs and manufactures automatic fare collection systems for public mass transit mass transit, public transportation systems designed to move large numbers of passengers. Types and Advantages Mass transit refers to municipal or regional public shared transportation, such as buses, streetcars, and ferries, open to all on a authorities. For more information about Cubic, see the company's Web site at www.cubic.com. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion