Thales Will Provide New Generation SDRs To France Worth $1.3 Billion

Thales has won a $1.33 billion contract from the French Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) procurement office for a new-generation software-defined radio, dubbed Contact. “In line with the decision by defense minister Jean-Yves Drian, the DGA awarded June 21 to Thales the first stage of the Contact (communications numériques tactiques et de théatre) program worth 1.06 billion euros,” a procurement office said in a statement. Thales’ contact radio offers higher capabilities in bandwidth, security and interoperability and will replace the PR4G tactical radio. “The Contact programme is strategically important for the French armed forces and key to France’s national sovereignty, and it also provides a solid framework for the future development of software-defined radio at the international level,” Thales CEO Luc Vigneron said in the company statement. The first stage is intended to deliver 2,400 vehicle-mounted and 2,000 portable units to equip two combined amphibious brigades and naval vessels in 2018. The second stage will equip combat, reconnaissance and transport aircraft with a new capacity for air-ground communications. And third stage is aimed at meeting all aeronautical needs and equipping naval ships operating in a naval force.