EADS unveils NetCOS advanced simulation and modelling facility in UK
- Part of Europe's largest and most advanced "virtual world" simulation network
- Network Centric Operations Simulation (NetCOS) to provide training and experimentation capability to UK's armed forces and emergency services
Newport, South Wales, 10 February 2006
EADS Defence & Security Systems' (DS) UK NetCOS facility was unveiled in Newport today by the Rt. Hon. Peter Hain, MP Secretary of State for Wales. As part of the world's largest international network-centric simulation environment, military missions, accidents, civil incidents, and natural disasters can now be simulated, tested and optimally prepared, for the UK's armed forces and emergency services.
NetCOS UK will allow battlefield commanders to evaluate risks and model potential scenarios without having to expose their troops to danger. NetCOS also offers the tools, environment and expertise to undertake homeland security studies and support other critical government activities in this area. The new simulation suite could play a pivotal role in the successful planning and execution of events such as the 2012 Olympics in understanding large event management of security procedures and crowd control. NetCOS's capabilities also form an integral element of the current EADS bid for the security contract for the Beijing Olympics, and will be central to the company's proposal for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Dr. Stefan Zoller, EADS DS CEO, said, The launch of NetCOS in Newport demonstrates our commitment to the UK and is transformational technology fully in line with the findings of the UK government's recent Defence Industrial Strategy. NetCOS will reduce risk, cut costs and could potentially save lives."
It is not only government departments who are interested in the modelling capabilities that NetCOS provides; emergency services and utility companies are interested in exploring their options with a series of "what if" scenarios. The new simulation capability represents an initial investment on the part of EADS and will serve as a catalyst for the creation of more high-tech jobs as the company grows and exploits its expertise as a Large Systems Integrator (LSI) across the defence and rapidly expanding security sector. Rt. Hon. Peter Hain commented, "EADS" announcement is good news for the Welsh economy and an endorsement of the management team and workforce. I believe the initial investment and commitment the company has made to NetCOS UK paves the way not only for more high-skilled jobs into the area but for global industry leadership."
The power of NetCOS is drawn from its unique international "federated" structure, which links Germany, France and the UK to collaborate and model scenarios in the same cyberspace at the same time. Virtual battlefields, aid convoys or accident response units can be injected into the system and responses recorded and analysed for future planning or knowledge. It is planned to add North America to the Federation within the next 12 months, creating a synthetic environment of greater international and geographic reach than any other company and allowing multi-national concept development and experimentation.
EADS' "Vision", an innovative command and control system that is an element of the NetCOS international concept, provides seamless integration of the synthetic environment with live video feeds of areas that are being supervised. This unique facility provides the ability to control crowd movement and other activities at events in, for example, stadiums. The authorities can then use the system to fully visualise a highly detailed simulation.
"Through this advanced new facility and the service it offers we are again demonstrating our support to European nations in understanding their security challenges today and tomorrow", added André-Hubert Roussel, Head of EADS DS System Design Centre.
Roke Manor Research Ltd was recently awarded the MoD's Network Enabled Capabilities for Close Combat Contract, and selected EADS as a team member because of its powerful NetCOS synthetic environment capabilities.
EADS Defence & Security Systems Division
EADS Defence & Security Systems, with revenues of about € 5.4 billion in 2004 and roughly 23,000 employees across ten nations, forms the defence and security pillar within EADS. It offers integrated systems solutions to the new challenges confronting armed forces and homeland security units. It is active in the areas of military aircraft, missile systems, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems with manned and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), battlefield management systems, defence electronics, sensors and avionics, and related services.
EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2004, EADS generated revenues of € 31.8 billion and employed a workforce of about 110,000.
For further information for the UK, please visit www.eadsdsuk.com
Your contact:
| Susan Pope | Newport South Wales |
Tel.: +44 (0) 1633 655 144 mailto: sue.pope@eads.com |
| Brigitte Faure | Paris France |
Tel.: +33 (0) 34 60 71 70 mailto: brigitte.faure@eads.com |
