Thales Wins Contract For Providing Satellite Communication Link To French Mid-air Refuellers

Vishal Thapar Feb 09, 2022

With military tensions looming over Europe over the Russian threat to Ukraine, France has awarded a contract to Thales for providing secure satellite communication equipment for French Air & Space Force Phenix MRTT tanker aircraft.

The 17-year MELISSA contract has been awarded by the French Defence Procurement Agency DGA as part of the French SYRACUSE IV military satellite telecommunication programme. It involves development, integration and support of aircraft satellite communication stations on the mid-air refuellers, Thales announced in a statement on February 9.

These satcom stations will enable French Phenix tankers to have broadband connections anywhere in the world and will be able to withstand jamming in dense electromagnetic environments. Thales will deliver this equipment in 2025 for integration with the tankers.

The satcom stations will be capable of connecting large military aircraft such as MRTT, A400M and AWACS, Thales stated.

“To meet the connectivity needs of the French Air and Space Force as high-intensity conflict returns, Thales will provide a resilient, high-data-rate satellite station capable of connecting large military aircraft  in all circumstances.

“The Thales terminal is derived from a proven satcom product that has accumulated over 30,000 flight hours on commercial airliners. The militarised version is specifically designed to maintain connectivity  with command centres in jammed environments and severely degraded flight and weather conditions.

“It operates with France’s SYRACUSE IV sovereign satellite system and is also compatible with any allied military or commercial satellites,” the statement added.

The ARINC standard satcom station will use the Ka band. It will be installed externally on the fuselage of large military aircraft like the MRTT (tanker), A400M (transport) and AWACS (surveillance).

Thales and its partners overcame a host of technical challenges to design a compact device capable of maintaining a stable satellite link for manoeuvering aircraft in the face of cyber warfare.

The MELISSA contract consolidates Thales’ leadership position as satcom equipment provider. For over 10 years, the French electronics giant has provided critical STANAG 4606-compliant communications for NATO and the land and naval forces of 12 countries in Europe, the  Middle East and Asia.

The Industrial supply chain for the MELISSA contract includes Eclipse, besides Thales’ Gennevilliers and Cholet Industrial Competence Centres and its Brive production facility.

“This ultra-high performance sovereign solution will be a key asset for the French forces engaged in high-intensity conflict missions,” Jean-Claude Schmitt, Thales’ vice-president of Network and Infrastructure Systems, said.