WATCHKEEPER completes major flight trials milestone

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WATCHKEEPER completes major flight trials milestone
UNITED KINGDOM - 13 AUGUST 2009

Thales UK is pleased to announce that the WATCHKEEPER unmanned air system (UAS) successfully completed a key set of inaugural flights in June 2009, which will allow the system to progress to a series of ground system and flight trials in the UK. These will take place at Parc Aberporth in West Wales and will start in late 2009. The necessary infrastructure and facilities at Parc Aberporth are ready and in place, and the WATCHKEEPER programme will now begin the transfer to the UK.

The flight trials undertaken in June represent a significant technical achievement for the WATCHKEEPER programme, with all elements of the system and sub-system being demonstrated to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), including:

- Full air vehicle system
- WATCHKEEPER data links
- Radar controlled Automatic Take-Off and Landing System (ATOLS)
- Electro Optic (EO) / Infrared (IR) and Synthetic Aperture Radar
(SAR) / Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) Radar payloads
- Ground control station software
- Autonomous Systems Flight Control and Video Imagery downlink

In parallel to the flight trials, work continues with the development of payloads, software, flight management and ground infrastructure systems.

Also, flight trials have taken place from a semi-prepared landing strip with rough ground and obstacles, demonstrating an ability to operate from open fields with minimum preparation. This is an important operational capability as the WATCHKEEPER system is not restricted to conventional airfields.

Alex Dorrian, Thales UK’s CEO, says: “This is another landmark achievement for the WATCHKEEPER programme and just one of a number of trials that are scheduled over the coming months. We have made good progress following the WATCHKEEPER maiden flight on 16 April 2008 and obviously our intention is to continue working closely with the UAS Project Team and our partners in delivering the next phase of the programme.”

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Notes to editors

WATCHKEEPER will provide the UK armed forces with an essential Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) capability and will be a key component of the UK's network enabled capability (NEC). Thales UK, as Prime Contractor for the WATCHKEEPER programme, will deliver equipment, training and facilities, with the capability planned to enter service from late 2010.

Production of the WATCHKEEPER system will take place at U-TacS (UAV Tactical Systems Ltd), the Thales UK and Elbit Systems joint company, based in Leicester.




Source: Thales UK

 

[syeda rehman]

good work done

 

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Thales Awarded Watchkeeper Support Contract
UNITED KINGDOM - 2 APRIL 2010

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded Thales UK the initial three-year support contract for the Watchkeeper Unmanned Air System (UAS) programme, for which Thales UK is also prime systems integrator.

The Watchkeeper support solution will be a performance-based Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) service, providing spares and repairs, technical support and the availability of the Watchkeeper training facility. Thales will deliver this service with the support of its key partners and supply chain, established during the Watchkeeper development and production programme.

The contract further secures Thales's role as an expert provider of innovation and support surrounding UASs and other intelligence and surveillance systems. The contract covers the whole Watchkeeper system, comprised of over 160 entities (including unmanned air vehicles, ground control stations and support vehicles), and includes operator / user training. It is the first step in Thales UK's provision of cost-effective, through-life support to Watchkeeper.

The Watchkeeper system is Europe's largest UAS programme, and will provide enhanced all-weather, dual-sensor multi-mission and image-exploitation, and dissemination capability for the UK armed forces. The programme will contribute significantly to information gathering and force protection by providing the MoD with remote, unmanned intelligence and surveillance monitoring during deployed operations.

Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) UAS Programme Manager Steve Waller, says: "This is a significant milestone, keeping the programme on track to achieve the inservice date and deliver the capability into theatre as soon as is practical."

Watchkeeper will initially operate in parallel with the Thales-led H-450 UAS programme, an innovative, service-provision programme that since June 2007 has provided battlewinning ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) capability for the UK Armed Forces. H-450 has now flown more than 30,000 operational hours in support of current operations.

The Watchkeeper support contract builds on Thales's extensive, proven expertise in providing responsive and robust support contracts, such as Sea King Integrated Operational Support (SKIOS), Integrated Merlin Operational Support (IMOS) and availability-based support to electronic warfare systems on the UK Royal Navy's entire above and below water fleet.

The Watchkeeper Service Management Team will be based in the UK, with Joint MoD / Thales Service Delivery and Training teams based in Abbey Wood, Bristol and Larkhill, Salisbury, assisted by service support organisations at Thales's facilities in both Leicester and Crawley.




Source: Thales Group