Article Posted on : - Apr 17, 2015

A Thales photo

PARIS (BNS): As part of the Australia's Land 121 Phase 3B Project, Thales has signed a contract with Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles Australia for a C4I(1) system and will supply the Sotas Lite, Thales's new crew intercom system, to the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

The ADF will acquire up to 2,536 medium and heavy category logistic trucks. The Phase 3B fleet will include protected vehicles, for operational deployment and tactical training, and unprotected vehicles for tactical training purposes only.

Rheinmetall has been contracted to supply these vehicles by the Australian Defence Force.

Thales in Australia will conduct the design activities for the C4I system that will be installed in the vehicles, integrating customer furnished radios and systems into the intercom system.

Thales in the Netherlands will supply Sotas Lite, Thales's new Crew Intercom System. The first Sotas systems were installed in the Australian Bushmaster programme in 2009/2012; this will be the third platform within the ADF in which Sotas will be integrated.

Sotas systems are based on a high performance open architecture that is modular, scalable and future-proof. The innovative Sotas Lite systems are aimed at programs/vehicles that do not require extensive inter-vehicle networking capabilities.

Requiring only a minimal installation footprint, Sotas Lite systems are typically used in space constrained vehicles, offering a comprehensive set of tactical voice and data services, a Thales statement said.