2, avenue Gay-Lussac78851 Elancourt Cedex
FranceTel. : +33 (0)5 57 26 36 74Fax. : +33 (0)5 57 26 71 60
www.thalesgroup.com/aerospace
Manor Royal, Crawley,West Sussex, RH10 9PZ,
United KingdomTel.: +44 (0)1293 528787Fax.: +44 (0)1293 542818
ThalesAerospace Division
Experience gained through conducting major aerospace programmesThales is prime contractor and/or subsystem supplier for manymilitary and civil programmes in the following areas:
• UAVs,
• C4ISTAR systems for early warning and air defence (ACCS pro-grammes),
• Mission aircraft and helicopters (AEW, ground surveillance, mari-time patrol, maritime surveillance, ESM/SIGINT, Combat SAR),
• Communications, navigation and identification (CNI) for combataircraft, transport aircraft and military helicopters,
• Air traffic control systems,
• Onboard sensor systems (including radars, optronics, electronicintelligence and self-protection),
• Integrated weapon systems for land and naval forces.
UAV Systems>
www.thalesgroup.com
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Network architecture approachUAV systems contribute to the valuechain, from initial sensor data acquisitionthrough to shared situation awareness,enabling decision-makers to conductmanoeuvres in real time, anticipate chan-ging threats and respond in a timelymanner.
Thales regards UAV systems as a sharedinformation and action capability offeringa broad range of options in response tothe changing tactical situation.
With its high-level expertise in data-pro-cessing tools, Thales brings operatorsand decision-makers together into thesame operational process.
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Working together towards future capabilitiesThales puts real C4ISTAR systemsthrough their paces in synthetic simulationenvironments, working with customers toprepare future operational capabilities andvalidate technical architectures in terms ofinteroperability, security and effectiveness.In this way, the impact of technologicalsolutions on operational tactics, tech-niques and procedures can be measuredin a risk-free environment by involving thedecision makers in the use of the futuresystems and by judging technical and ope-rational solutions against whole-life costs.
A broad spectrum of missions
• Surveillance, early warning and targetacquisition for offensive operations.
• Support for operations other than war(OOTW) in unsecured areas.
• Monitoring of peace agreements fromstand-off ranges.
• Surveillance of borders and maritimeapproaches.
• Civil defence and environment protec-tion missions.
• Provision of data for geographic data-bases.
UAV SYSTEMS NETWORKED C4ISTAR CAPABILITIES
UAV systems combine air vehicles, sensor suites andground-based exploitation segments as part of a networkenabled capability.
Thales UAV systems are multi-sensor, multi-mission andmulti-platform solutions designed to meet a broad range ofsecurity needs. Thales places great emphasis on the keyfeatures that define a successful UAV system, includinginteroperability, survivability, persistence, endurance andflight operations in military and civil airspace.
> Mission Payloads
Complete Control of the Operational Process
SAR & MTI imageryESMCOMINTELINTElectro-Optic/LTDECM
> Data Links
> Ground Segment
NETW
OR
KED
C4IS
TA
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APA
BIL
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Support for:
Intelligence
Surveillance
Target acquisition
Service commitments:
Bandwidth optimisation
Information security
Geospatial information dominance
Digital geography
Positioning
> Communication Navigation Identification Suite
> Flight Management System and onboard computers
Mission planningMission controlExploitation and data dissemination
Line of Sight High & Low Rate Data Links SatcomLaser
Logistic support integration and simulation
EO/IR sensorRapid Interchange between sensors
Intelligence payloads designedto be adaptable to any type of UAV system
Simple andflexible interfaces
SAR/MTI radar
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Airborne missions• Signals and communications intelligence
(SIGINT/ELINT & COMINT ESM).
• Electro-optical imagery (infrared, thermal, daytime optical) with counter-measure resistance.
• Radar imagery and airborne ground surveillance (High Resolution SAR/MTI).
• Missile launch detection.
• High-speed communication relays.
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Integrated multi-platform approachThales’ multi-platform approach takes fulladvantage of the benefits of operationalco-operation with ground surveillance air-craft (Joint-STARS, Horizon, ASTOR,Global Hawk, future NATO AGS program-me, other mission aircraft such asSIGINT and maritime patrol aircraft)within broader network architectures.
JUEP: UAV EXPERIMENTATION FOR MARITIME ISTAR
Thales led the team chosen by the UK MoD for the maritime strand of its Joint UAV Experimentation
Programme (JUEP), which provided information vital tothe development of maritime UAV capability in
the UK. With Boeing and QinetiQ,Thales demonstrated thecontribution that UAV systems can make to a future
networked maritime ISTAR capability. Involvement in this programme augments Thales’ considerable expertise in UAV-borne ISTAR systems.
Thales UAV systems will contribute to the flexibi-lity of air and/or joint operations, greatlyincreasing their ability to reallocate resourcesand reconfigure offensive air assets as missionsprogress. Thales UAV systems are designed toextend the range of capabilities available to timesensitive targeting cells within command andcontrol centres.
UAV SYSTEMS FOR INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, TARGET ACQUISITIONAND RECONNAISSANCE (ISTAR)
WATCHKEEPER: A TACTICAL ISTAR SYSTEM
In 2004, Thales was selected as preferred bidderfor the WATCHKEEPER Tactical UAV system for theBritish Armed Forces. WATCHKEEPER is the lar-gest UAV programme in Europe and will provide atactical ISTAR solution to the UK MoD for the next30 years.Making full use of its multiple payload capabilities,WATCHKEEPER offers extended, high performancesurveillance from a system that is both mature andoperationally proven yet retains every potential forfuture growth.
“WATCHKEEPER UAVs will be an invaluable addi-tion to our military capability. They will play a vitalrole in providing our armed forces with timelyintelligence to identify the threat, enabling us tostrike faster and more decisively.”
Lord Bach, UK Minister for Defence Procurement
Ground-based operations• Optimisation of sensor operations
(cross-cuing),
• Exploitation and secure real-time distri-bution of fused intelligence data.
• Post/subscribe mechanisms via tacti-cal internet.
• Satellite communication and very-high-speed, line of sight directionalcommunications.
ISTA
R
Combined Air Operations Centre
(CAOC)
Take off & landing Ground Control Station(Projected Airbase GCS)
Mission Ground Control Station(GCS)
Head of operations
Mission preparation post
Mission preparation post
Sensor 2control post(MTI/ESM)
UAVcontrolpost
UAVcontrol post
Sensor 1control post(EO/IR)
UAV Mission Control
Time SensitiveTargeting Cell
Pla
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With high-level expertise in the payloads required for all types of missions andtheir networked operation, Thales supplies complete UAV systems with the fullrange of intelligence, surveillance and early warning functions that will be at thecentre of a network enabled capability for all airborne and ground-based mis-sions within the ISTAR process:
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UAVs: a new air power component • Target acquisition and designation for
other armed platforms.• Precision guidance of air-to-ground
armaments.• Pre-mission planning and post-mission
analysis.• Communication, navigation and identifi-
cation (CNI).• Electronic warfare.• Protection of unmanned combat air
vehicles (UCAVs) against anti-aircraftthreats.
Full-spectrum electronic warfare• Communication and radar jammers.• Electromagnetic pulse devices.• Self-protection systems and equipment.
Self-protection: guaranteeingthe success of offensive missionsWith their inherent ability to conduct suc-cessive missions, and particularly toloiter over heavily defended areas,UCAVs, like conventional combat aircraft,must carry onboard self-protection sys-tems to ensure survivability againstanti-aircraft threats.
UAV SYSTEMSFOR OFFENSIVE AND COMBAT MISSIONS
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Combat missions• Carrying guided and unguided missiles.• Laser target designation.
Precision strikesAir engagements are increasingly organi-sed around the deployment of precisionair-to-ground weapons, including laserand GPS guided weapons. For this modeof engagement, based on the use of net-work architectures, Thales suppliesweapon guidance systems that make itpossible to conduct operations directlyfrom UCAVs, manned aircraft or fromthe ground. In addition, Thales develops and pro-duces the mission planning systemsneeded for these offensive operations, aswell as the full range of sensors andexploitation systems for target research,3D modelling, location and identification.
UAV systems are a force in their own right, capable of playing a key role inoffensive missions. With its extensive experience in avionics for combat aircraft, Thales has a thorough understanding of the requirements andconstraints associated with air engagements. Offering innovative solutions tailored to the needs of military users, Thales has the full range of expertiseneeded to develop offensive functions for UAV systems.
THE BATTLESPACE TRANSFORMATION CENTRE: COLLABORATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE CAPABILITIES
The Battlespace Transformation Centre (BTC) is a crosscutting collaborative structure bringing togetherall the relevant capabilities from across the Thales Group. Specialising in operational analysis, complexsystems engineering and architecture studies, the BTC draws on the networked demonstration and tes-ting facilities of the Group’s various divisions and countries of operation, as well as the Thales IntegrationCentre (TIC).By sharing use of the TIC and associated technical and operational laboratories, government represen-tatives and operational users are able to join forces with Thales to build the future through a commonapproach to concept development and testing.From the initial design concept of new UAV systems, the BTC combines a top-down approach (validationof multi-platform architecture for network-centric forces) with a bottom-up approach (capabilities gainedby integrating new equipment with the system), with particular focus on analysing relevant criteria andmeasuring them using metrics based on the exploitation of test results.
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