Jackpot for Thales in Great Britain… The British Ministry of Defense has signed a contract worth 1.85 billion pounds sterling (2.17 billion euros) for a period of 15 years from January 1, 2024. or an average of 145 million euros per year for the duration of the contract. According to Alex Cresswell, CEO of Thales UK, the revenue distribution for Thales over 15 years will be “fairly linear, but with a bit more activity in the first two years”. Called MSET (Maritime Sensor Enhancement Team), the agreement should make it possible to improve the availability and resilience of Royal Navy ships in anticipation of breakdowns. Thanks to artificial intelligence (AI) and data management. Thales UK will be responsible for maintaining the sonars, masts, periscopes and electronic warfare systems that the group supplies to the Royal Navy. According to the British Ministry of Defence, this contract should extend the life of sensors and sonars.
“This significant investment in our sensors for ships and submarines will ensure that our equipment is at the cutting edge of technology,” he said. Vice–Admiral Second Sea Lord of the Royal Navy, Martin ConnellA press release from the Ministry of Defense quoted.
“This is the first time in the UK that we have managed to bring together so many different support contracts”, Alex Cresswell stressed to a few reporters. In recent years, more and more militaries around the world have opted for such long-term contracts for the maintenance and replacement of their equipment to improve its availability.
AI, Virtual Reality and Big Data
By building more proactive and predictive maintenance systems using AI, big data and virtual reality technologies, Thales will enable the Royal Navy to maximize the days it is ready to deploy at sea. This agreement will rapidly improve fault diagnosis times, thereby reducing repair times. . Thus, the new resources implemented by Thales in the ports of Devonport, Faslane, Portsmouth and Bahrain will make it possible to reduce repair times by an average of 100 days and spare parts supply times by an average of 44 days. They will improve reliability by 10%.
“In the context of global volatility, it is imperative to minimize the downtime of our ships and submarines for maintenance operations. Defense Secretary Grant Shaps made the argument during his first visit to Devonport Naval Base, which is the subject of a £750 million (£880 million) investment plan announced last November. euro)
During the contract period, Thales will manage a major renewal phase of the Royal Navy fleet, which will bring into service a whole new generation of vessels such as Type 26 and Type 31 frigates, Dreadnought class submarines, sea mines. Countermeasure ships (MMCM and various autonomous systems. These various warships will benefit from the new port development. The contract currently includes T23 frigates, T45 and Hunt destroyers, mine hunters Sandown and Astute, Vanguard and 18 types of ships. Triton class submarines.
450 jobs retained
The deal will also secure the employment of 300 people, create 150 additional jobs (104 in Glasgow, 46 in Crawley and 300 in Templecombe/Cheadle), mainly in engineering positions, and train several hundred apprentices. Especially under heavy stress in technical fields. He “Also protects jobs in wider UK supply chain”, estimates the British Ministry of Defence. This agreement Will triple investment in supply chain, supporting integration of 1,200 additional jobs.