Crawley, UK. 13 October, 2017.  As a leading provider of intelligence systems , smart connectivity and associated services to the UK MoD, Thales has secured a seven year contract to provide through-life support for communications systems of the Royal Navy’s fleet.

The £100m contract provides an intelligent, unified approach to supporting the Thales communications systems, including those fitted to the Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers coming into service.

The seven year contract provides Thales with the responsibility to maintain, support and manages through-life the Royal Navy’s communications systems across the majority of the Fleet’s platforms, from the state-of-the-art systems aboard the new QEC aircraft carriers and the Type 45 Destroyers through to older systems such as those on Landing Platform Dock and many other platforms across the Fleet.

The systems fitted to the QEC aircraft carriers, and supported under this contract, enable the ship’s company to talk to each other within the vessel, its aircraft, the rest of the Navy and associated taskgroups, allies, civilian vessels and air traffic securely anywhere in the world.

Without these systems operational the vessels cannot go to sea. This capability builds on the significant installed base already in-service across the Royal Navy.

The contract secures around 40 jobs at Thales in the UK at Crawley, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Bristol and involves in excess of 40 UK companies across the associated global supply chain.

Thales is a global leader in the provision of military communications systems equipping over 40 Navies worldwide and providing the Royal Navy with communication systems for over 60 years.

“The Royal Navy relies on Thales for its key sensors, communications, sonar, radar and electronic warfare systems giving the Fleet that critical situational awareness capability. This latest communications support contract builds upon our century long relationship with the Royal Navy providing its critical communications systems and will ensure that those systems are ready to meet the daily challenges of operations for years to come”- Victor Chavez, CEO of Thales in the UK.

Key Points

  • Thales has won a 7 year £100m contract with the UK Royal Navy to provide communications systems support to the fleet
  • Thales’s communications systems are critical to the new Queen Elizabeth Class carriers coming into service
  • The contract secures 40 jobs in the UK