Digital Battlespace
Dubai 09: Thales sees Middle East future in C4I programmes
The head of Thales’ Middle East operations, Olivier Badard, has described military networking solutions as of paramount importance to the companies future in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the region more widely.
Some 10% of the company’s revenues are now dependent on the region with much of that revenue being based on Thales C4ISR products.
Badard told Digital Battlespace that tactical communications has been a key piece of the company’s work in the UAE with the company supplying to all three branches of the UAE armed forces. ‘The integration of these networks with the C4I solutions Thales offers globally is the cornerstone of our future presence with the armed forces in the country,’ Badard stated.
Earlier in the year the company announced a new tactical communications joint venture with Emirates Advanced Investment. The new company Thales Advanced Solutions is expected to support the UAE armed forces’ PR4G tactical radio network and look at developing future networking solutions.
The company also has a major presence through its joint venture with Raytheon, ThalesRaytheonSystems (TRS). TRS has been active in upgrading the air operations command capabilities of all the Gulf Cooperation Council countries at the joint air force command. This GCC capability is in addition to work being done for individual nations.
For its part TRS, particularly through the US part of the company, is also pursuing C4I integration possibilities in the larger Middle East region. One major project could see the company equip the entire Pakistan Army with a basic integrated C4I system.
Jim Julian, TRS’ Director C4I systems, told DB that the company’s major strength was its ability to understand these complex projects and deliver the customer what was needed. ‘as the size of these programmes go up, the complexity of them also go up,’ Julian said. ‘We understand that complexity and can deliver the right capability,’ he concluded.
By Darren Lake, Dubai
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