As part of a long-standing relationship between the two companies, Airbus has awarded Thales a contract for a further two new A400M military training simulators (Nos. 7 and 8). The French and German air forces will benefit from these new simulators respectively in 2019 and 2020.
The two new simulators will enable A400M crews to train in complex missions such as in-flight refuelling and low-level tactical operations in a safe environment. So far, Thales has previously delivered five orders for A400M FFS and two Flat Panel Flight – Training Devices to France, Germany, the UK and the International Training Center in Sevilla and a sixth FFS will be delivered to Spain in 2018.
“Thales is proud to have received such long-standing commitment from Airbus and we will continue to provide high-quality simulators to enable flight crews to train for their missions. Thales is committed to supporting the Airbus A400M platform through its development cycle with Airbus”. Stephen McCann, Vice President, Avionics activities at Thales in the UK In the UK, A400M Training Services Ltd (ATSL), a joint venture company formed by Thales and Airbus, manages the training, support services and maintenance at the Royal Air Force at Brize Norton training school in Oxfordshire. In 2017, the training school has already trained over 24 pilots, 20 loadmasters and 204 engineers.
Thales is the only provider of A400M Flight Simulators through OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’ARmement). In France, Thales is also an Airbus industrial partner for support operations at the Airbus A400M training centre on the French Air Force’s Orléans-Bricy 123 base.
