Article Posted on : - Jan 19, 2012

PARIS (BNS): The Defence Ministry has awarded Thales the contract to support its equipment on board the Rafale aircraft in service with the French Air Force and French Navy.

The ten-year contract awarded by the Defence Ministry's integrated structure for through-life support of aeronautical equipment (SIMMAD) contract is known as MAESTRO.

Under the terms of the contract, Thales is responsible for supporting the Rafale's phased array radar, electronic warfare system, avionics (displays, onboard computers, etc.), optronics (OSF front-sector optronics, cameras, etc.) and communication systems.

To guarantee fleet availability, Thales will optimise replacement parts management, logistics management and information flows between government agencies and Thales services streamline equipment repair processes and deploy technical and logistics advisers to work directly with users on French military bases.

The fixed-price availability contract represents a major innovation in through-life support delivery and coincides with an increase in Rafale flight hours and the need to comply with tougher military airworthiness standards.