Production contract for first German-French Aircraft Identification System
Friedrichshafen/Unterschleißheim/Colombes, 26 October 2000
The new-generation IFF transponder onboard systems supplied by EADS Deutschland and Thomson-CSF Comsys will distinctly increase air traffic safety.
The two partner companies, EADS Deutschland GmbH and Thomson-CSF Comsys, have scored a resounding success on the German-French market for aircraft identification systems. The Federal Office of Defence Technology and Procurement (BWB) has awarded a production contract including a further option for IFF transponder onboard systems (worth € 160 million) to the Franco-German joint venture European Identification Systems GmbH/Munich-Unterschleißheim. This was reported by EADS on Thursday. The new firm is a joint venture in which EADS and Thomson-CSF hold a fifty percent stake each.
On account of a requirement of European Air Traffic Control and a subsequently launched German-French programme, the armed forces of both nations will equip their aircraft with a new generation of IFF transponders (IFF = identification friend or foe). This bilateral programme runs under the stewardship of the BWB. Thomson-CSF Comsys, with facilities in Colombes and Laval, and EADS, represented by their Defence Electronics and Telecommunications Business Unit, with plants in Friedrichshafen, Ulm and Unterschleißheim, will jointly produce the new generation of IFF transponder onboard systems.
Dr. Stefan Zoller, CEO of Dornier GmbH and Head of the Defence Electronics and Telecommunications Business Unit: "This contract for the bilateral equipment programme "new-generation IFF transponder" is the first major step towards positioning our Airborne Systems unit on the European market for air traffic control systems. The order volume is split into two thirds for EADS and one third for our partner Thomson-CSF, in proportion to the quantities ordered by Germany and France. This will help us consolidate highly qualified jobs and further develop our know-how and expertise."
The IFF transponders (STR 2000 is the German and TSC 2000 the French version) will link military aircraft to the modern Mode S (Mode Selective) identification procedures of civil aviation. As of 2001, Mode S will be mandatory for new aircraft, and as of 2003 also for in-service aircraft. With conventional identification systems, ATC centres continuously interrogate the surrounding airspace. When the airspace is crowded, this leads to substantial problems concerning the identification of individual aircraft. Mode S enables the ATC centres to interrogate aircraft selectively. In the ever more congested European airspace this will significantly improve air traffic safety records.
The new transponders will also be provided with an interface for collision warning. In modern air traffic, automatic collision avoidance systems (ACAS) are used to prevent critical situations in the airspace and the collision of aircraft. Aircraft approaching each other, exchange their flight data via the transponder. The ACAS computer evaluates the received flight data and warns the pilot early, both acoustically and optically of close encounters. If necessary, it also intervenes in the flight control.
Additionally, the transponders are already prepared for an upgrade to Mode 5. This new military mode allows the encrypted interrogation of military aircraft, combined with a significantly increased information content, as well as enhanced ECM resistance and security.
EADS was formed from the merger of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG, the French Aerospatiale Matra and the Spanish Construcciones Aeronáuticas (Casa), and is one of the world's three leading aerospace companies.
With 9,000 employees in 14 countries and annual revenues of EUR 1.5 billion, Thomson-CSF Comsys has responsibility for information and communications systems within Thomson-CSF's defence business area, and is the world leader in defence communications following the acquisition of Racal.
Friedrichshafen/Colombes, October 26, 2000/03900d
For further information:
Business Unit Defence Electronics and Telecommunications
Michael Hartwig
Phone: +49(0)7545-8-9124, Fax: -8-5888
Thomson-CSF Comsys
Laurent Zimmermann
Tel: +33 (0)1 41 30 26 11
Fax: +33 (0)1 41 30 41 88
Email: laurent.zimmermann@tcc.thomson-csf.com
www.comsys.thomson-csf.com
