The four European leaders of the Defense Mission sector together to provide their unique and complementary skills for the MALE drone program (Medium Altitude, Long Endurance) promoted by France, Germany, Italy and Spain - called European RPAS MALE (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) ) - for the development of the ISTAR capability (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) to the state of the art (which can therefore be adapted to technological developments).
The companies Elettronica, Hensoldt, Indra and Thales have signed a "memorandum of agreement", in compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, confirming their common goal of offering the entire ISTAR capability for MALE RPAS drones that includes all the elements , from sensors to the functions of computing, data processing and communications. The team is open to cooperation with other companies.
The four companies will bring their multi-year experience and their technological leadership in the field of electronic defense and mission systems with a joint approach, substantially reducing the inherent risk of such a challenging program. This will ensure a "target-oriented" implementation in terms of time and costs, while ensuring the growth potential necessary to face other projects in the future.
"The future operational environment of the Air Forces will lead to a variety of aerial platforms integrated into a single network that will act as a force multiplier", said Thomas Müller, CEO of Hensoldt."The close interaction between the mission systems of the various platforms is essential to exploit the advantage of such a complex network. Therefore, the architecture of the new RPAS mission system must be entrusted to experts in the field from the beginning, adapting its development regardless of the specificities of each individual platform.".
"Thales, Hensoldt, Elettronica and Indra have great ambitions based on a shared vision of the digital transformation of the sector in which they operate and their customers. Thales will use its expertise in Defense Mission systems through four key digital technologies, namely, Connectivity, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity. We offer our customers decisive technologies to adopt the best decision in real time", said Patrice Caine, President and CEO of Thales.
"We are building industrial cooperation in Europe, preparing ourselves for a future in which defense investments will be carried out mainly at European level. This alliance will pave the way for future programs, currently being defined in Europe", said Ignacio Mataix, Executive Director of Indra.
"Our many years of experience in collaboration programs and our mindset will bring a concrete benefit in terms of risk reduction and full satisfaction of the ISTAR requirement. Collaboration with our historic European partners will guarantee high levels of success"said Enzo Benigni, President and CEO of Elettronica.
The European program MALE RPAS is managed by the European procurement agency OCCAR. The 26 August 2016 was signed a Definition Study contract with European aircraft manufacturers Airbus Defense and Space, Dassault and Leonardo. The launch of the development phase is scheduled for the 2019.
