Thales and the French Defence Ministry's integrated through-life support structure for aeronautical equipment and systems (SIMMAD) announced the awarding of the AMADEOS contract(*), a six-year agreement worth €164 million.

Under this agreement, Thales will provide through-life support and availability management services for optronic equipment and systems on-board aircraft in service with the French Army, Air Force and Navy, including Rafale (photo), Mirage 2000, ATL2, Puma, Caracal and Falcon 50.

AMADEOS bundles several earlier through-life support agreements into a single contract to enhance coordination and availability management of optronic payloads in cooperation with the French forces. The new contract will also simplify obsolescence management and optimise the cost and availability.

AMADEOS covers all the optronic payloads supplied by Thales to the French Forces, with the exception of Rafale’s front-sector optronics suite (OSF) that is supported under the MAESTRO(**) contract, and RECO NG pod, for which through-life support formed part of the initial procurement contract.

Thales will install and operate a data management system to enhance the exchange of information with the French Armed Forces, and provide on-site technical assistance at airbases.

(*) Association des Maintiens en condition opérationnelle et Amélioration de la Disponibilité des Equipements Optroniques en Service dans les forces (Association of through-life support and improvement of availability of optronic equipment in service in the forces)

(**)  MAESTRO: MAintien en condition opérationnelle des Equipements B et des moyens de SoutienThales du Rafale Optimisé (Optimised through-life support for Thales Class B equipment andsupport systems for Rafale)