09 JAN 05. The French defence procurement agency (DGA) has appointed Thales and EADS DCS as joint industrial prime contractors on the MOIE* SIC Terre programme for the French Army’s information and communication systems. The overall contract is worth €230m. Thales will assume a 70% share of the contract, while the EADS workshare will be 30%, with Thales as lead contractor.
As a key battlefield digitisation programme, MOIE SIC Terre will increase combat effectiveness by networking all players in the battlespace and speeding up the operational tempo through:
* automated information exchange
* controlled networking of all information at all levels of the command chain
* enhanced interoperability in national, multinational and NATO environments.
The MOIE SIC Terre programme will provide a common technical platform to network all the French Army’s information and communication systems, currently developed independently. This single, shared platform will guarantee interoperability between the French Army’s legacy and future systems, as well as with other armed forces and nations. It will also optimise the total cost of ownership and facilitate deployment in the theatre of operations, by ensuring coherent implementation.
Under the contract:
* Thales and EADS will integrate the French Army’s fourteen existing communication or information systems and significantly improve the operational capabilities of the command chain.
* Thales and EADS will develop a complete technical platform incorporating a common model for displaying operational information and integrating the latest information system, security and IP communication technologies.
* Thales will develop and produce the next generation of SICF** command and control information systems for the French Army’s major units, based on this common technical platform.
To carry out this contract, Thales and EADS will draw on the recommendations of the ATTILA*** study, which Thales conducted to define a new, unified communication architecture based on IP technologies. These recommendations are already being implemented on the SIC 21 programme, which calls for development of a new-generation command, control and information system for the French Navy. The SIC 21 contract was awarded to Thales in January 2004.
* MOIE: Maîtrise d’Œuvre Industrielle d’Ensemble (overall industrial prime contractorship)
** SICF: Système d’Information et de Commandement des Forces (French forces’ command, control and information system)
*** ATTILA: Architecture de Transit de Théâtre Interconnectant les LANs des Armées (theatre-level transit architecture networking the French forces’ LANs).