Thales to Provide Mission Systems for Royal Navy’s Type 31 Frigates

Thales to Provide Royal Navy with the Most Advanced Mission Systems to Protect UK Maritime Interests Globally

(Source: Thales; issued Feb. 06, 2020)

Prime contractor Babcock has selected France’s Thales to provide the mission system for the Royal Navy’s future Type 31 general purpose frigates. (Thales image)

PARIS --- Thales, as part of Babcock Team 31, has been selected to deliver the digital core 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 1,250 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,” said Victor Chavez, Chief Executive of Thales in the UK.

BACKGROUND NOTES:

-- 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.

Thales is a global technology leader shaping the world of tomorrow today. The Group provides solutions, services and products to customers in the aeronautics, space, transport, digital identity and security, and defence markets. With 80,000 employees in 68 countries, Thales generated sales of €19 billion in 2018 (on a pro forma basis including Gemalto). Thales is investing in particular in digital innovations — connectivity, Big Data, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — technologies that support businesses, organisations and governments in their decisive moments.

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