On behalf of the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA), the Joint Armaments Cooperation Organisation (OCCAr)1 has awarded Thales a contract to upgrade the fire control system for the anti-air missiles deployed by the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier. The new equipment will be installed as part of the refit planned in 2018.

Work will be completed when the Charles de Gaulle returns to active service.

Thales will upgrade the SAAM France surface-to-air anti-missile system, which protects the Charles de Gaulle carrier from all types of air threats and was developed and installed in the 1990s. The upgrade will include a state-of-the-art open IT architecture and will facilitate subsequent maintenance work on the system and extend its service life.

The Thales solution is an opportunity to apply the latest software architecture concepts developed for the CONTROLView command and control system.

CONTROLView performs threat evaluation, weapon assignment and coordination of very short, short and medium-range engagements, enabling commanders to make complex, critical decisions more quickly and with greater precision and security.

This contract award is an endorsement of Thales's research efforts in system and software engineering and its continuing investment in air defence. Based on the technology developed for the CONTROLView programme, Thales can offer a mature, derisked missile fire control solution for naval operations.