Cassidian teams with ATECH on Brazilian EC725s

Cassidian has announced that it will join forces with Brazilian systems specialist ATECH to equip the new EC725 helicopters of the Brazilian Navy with an advanced mission management system. The companies have signed a €40 million contract with Eurocopter and its Brazilian subsidiary Helibras to develop and manufacture the Tactical Data Management System (TDMS) for 8 navy helicopters.

The TDMS is based on Cassidian's SAMSARA mission management system which processes sensor data from different sources to build a comprehensive tactical situation picture while controlling also weapon and self-protection systems. As a result, the TDMS enhances detection and real-time identification of movements on the surface giving security forces additional time to react.

The contract is part of the procurement of 50 EC725 helicopters by the Brazilian armed forces. The Eurocopter/Helibras consortium’s H-XBR programme will equip the Brazilian armed forces as part of the National Defence Strategy (END), which established the mid and long term activities to modernise the defence sector in Brazil, supporting development of infrastructure and resources and the restructuring of the Brazilian defence industry. According to Cassidian, this programme is being conducted to establish a national industrial base capable of both conceiving and manufacturing rotary wing aircraft in-country, and comprises a process for nationalisation and mastering of technology for helicopter production, aligned with a policy to internalise the overall production capability in the country making use of the government acquisition power.

The TDMS mission computer will be manufactured by ATECH who will also perform the system integration under the supervision of the new Helibras Engineering Centre and support ground and flight tests at the Helibras site, Itajubá/Brazil. In-service support to the Brazilian Navy will also be provided directly by Atech. Cassidian said the work will be concluded by 2017.