Thales : to provide Royal Navy with the most advanced mission systems to protect UK maritime interests globally.

• Thales is proud to be delivering the digital heart of the UK's next generation Type 31 Frigates
• Thales to expand its footprint in the UK with the opening of a new Naval Combat Management Centre in Crawley (West Sussex) and increase its mission system capabilities and future growth.

Thales, as part of Babcock Team 31, has been selected to deliver the digital heart of the UK's next generation frigates. Thales will be the mission systems integrator for the Type 31 programme, delivering the combat system, communications systems and the navigation and bridge system. The T31 general purpose frigate programme will provide the UK Government with a fleet of five ships, at an average production cost of £250 million per ship.

Following a comprehensive competitive process, T31, a capable, adaptable and technology-enabled global frigate will be the UK Royal Navy's newest class of warships, with the first ship scheduled in the water in 2023.

At its height, the programme will maximise a workforce of around 1250 highly- skilled roles in multiple locations throughout the UK, with around 150 new technical apprenticeships likely to be developed. The work is expected to support an additional 1250 roles within the wider UK supply chain.

Building on our global successes Thales is expanding its capabilities in mission systems delivery in the UK. This will generate new jobs and technical skills in Crawley, West Sussex where the new team has been established. A new naval combat management centre has also been developed to provide a space for customers, employees and end-users to train, test and see how our solutions deliver operational benefits and to continuously gain customer feedback.

'Thales has been at the forefront of innovation with the Royal Navy for over 100 years. We are immensely proud of the trusted critical solutions we provide to the Royal Navy to protect our waters. This means we can continue to expand our significant UK footprint whilst also looking to export markets.' Victor Chavez, Chief Executive of Thales in the UK

Notes to editors

• Tacticos is the mission system and has been designed from the outset to be open and provides access to the core data model via open published standards that can be used to enable continuous growth and evolution through life.
• Type 31 will offer the Royal Navy a new class of ship with a proven ability to deliver a range of peacekeeping, humanitarian and warfighting capabilities whilst offering communities and supply chains throughout the UK a wide range of economic and employment opportunities.
• A key element of the Type31 programme is to supply a design with the potential to secure a range of export orders thereby supporting the UK economy and UK jobs. Type31 will offer export customers an unrivalled blend of price, capability and flexibility backed by the Royal Navy's world-class experience.
• Type 31 is a multi-role frigate equipping today's mariner with real-time data to support immediate and complex decision-making.

« Depuis plus de 100 ans, Thales est à l'avant-garde de l'innovation avec la Royal Navy. Nous sommes extrêmement fiers des solutions critiques que nous fournissons aux forces navales britanniques pour protéger nos eaux territoriales. C'est la possibilité pour nous de continuer à renforcer notre présence déjà importante au Royaume-Uni, mais aussi de nous tourner vers les marchés à l'export. » Victor Chavez, Directeur général, Thales au Royaume-Uni

Notes aux rédacteurs

• Le système de mission Tacticos a été conçu dès l'origine comme un système ouvert, c'est-à-dire dont le code source est accessible via des standards du domaine public pour permettre son enrichissement et son évolution tout au long du cycle de vie du système.
• La frégate de Type 31 (T31) permettra à la Royal Navy de disposer d'une nouvelle génération de navires de guerre, offrant également des capacités adaptées aux missions humanitaires et de maintien de la paix. Le choix de cette solution se traduira en outre par des avantages économiques et des opportunités d'emploi nouvelles pour les acteurs industriels et les chaînes logistiques concernés en Grande-Bretagne.
• Un aspect clé du programme T31 est d'offrir également des potentialités de commandes à l'export, contribuant ainsi à soutenir l'économie et les emplois en Grande-Bretagne. Type31 offrira aux clients export une combinaison sans équivalent de capacités, de flexibilité opérationnelle et de rapport coût-efficacité, étayés par l'expérience unique de la Royal Navy.
• Type 31 est une frégate multi rôle qui permet aux opérateurs de disposer de données en temps réel pour une prise de décision immédiate dans les situations complexes.