Thales Nederland - Combat Management Systems and Combat System Integration

Thales Nederland is a global supplier of a wide range of equipment for above-water warfare and a naval combat system integrator. A high-tech company, it specializes in designing and producing integrated systems for command and control, sensor and communication purposes. The main systems and services of Thales-NL are active and passive surveillance systems, combat management systems (e.g. TACTICOS CMS), combat system integration and life cycle support services. Other Thales units in the Netherlands are involved in areas such as data links, electro-optics and telecommunications.

Being part of the international Thales group, Thales-NL plays a leading role in the full OODA loop from target detection up to engagement:

• Provision of information, through a wide range of active and passive surveillance sensors
Information handling, analysis and presentation and decision support, through the scaleable TACTICOS Combat Management System (CMS)
• Above-water action planning and handling
• Associated logistic and lifecycle support services, guaranteeing the systems' operational effectiveness throughout their lifetime

SENSOR SUITES AND NAVAL COMBAT MANAGEMENT

Thales-NL received a lot of attention recently for its highly successful new frigates programs for the German and Netherlands navies. Its revolutionary AAW system with large sensors such as the multifunction radar APAR and the volume search radar SMART-L has proven to be second to none. And with the selection of the S1850M radar for navies of the UK, France and Italy, the Thales-NL long-range radar has become the de facto NATO standard sensor for volume search applications. But Thales-NL provides also smaller vessels with sophisticated defence capabilities. Modern and capable sensor suites, together with our TACTICOS CMS, equip new generations of corvettes and fast attack craft throughout the world with products to shorten the Boyd Cycle. Our products match the missions, tasks and weapon fit of the ship, any ship, from small to large.

Thales-NL is continuously updating its naval systems product portfolio. This will result in new multifunction radars, new 3D surveillance radars for small and large ships and updated combat management systems in the near future. The portfolio also includes new life cycle support products and services such as computer-based training, fast track repair, etc.

TACTICOS COMBAT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS)

Thales-NL's advanced building concept for Naval Combat Systems is defined as SEWACO-FD (Sensor, Weapon Control and Command System - Fully Distributed). The TACTICOS CMS is the core of this open systems architecture.

TACTICOS is scalable to fit the operational requirements of a variety of naval vessels, ranging from fast patrol boats and LPDs to destroyers.

TACTICOS, including the Multifunction Operator Consoles (MOC), is the latest representative of Thales-NL's CMSs. TACTICOS offers a common architecture for all missions and platforms. The CMS of today is based on the continuous evolution of a large, installed and operational base.

Extensive use is made of COTS components and recognized industry standards for hardware, software and integration.

INTEGRATED SENSORS AND EFFECTORS

The TACTICOS system is functionally characterised by:

• Integration and control of a broad range of sensors and effectors
• A very high degree of automation for surveillance, data fusion, situation assessment and engagement actions
• A range of planning facilities, for the long and short term
• Functional redundancy for all operational functions, including engagements
• Online re-allocation of operator tasks whenever the situation requires it
• A flexible man-machine interface which, in combination with a high degree of automation, minimises human mistakes and misinterpretations
• A system configuration that is adaptable to organisational needs

DAMAGE-RESISTANT COTS SYSTEM

The TACTICOS system is characterised by:

• Very high availability and damage resistance resulting from built-in system redundancy and graceful degradation facilities
• An advanced 'distributed' computer architecture without any single point of failure: applying a multi-node, multiprocessor concept in a battle-damage-resistant configuration; a duplicated local area network; the use of the latest programming languages and provisions for a relational database management system and artificial intelligence applications
• COTS based multi-function console family combining the latest technology with an optimal ergonomic design (MOC Mk3)
• The TACTICOS CMS is strictly modular in the composition and use of its hardware and software elements and is therefore suitable for any size of systems, from a stand-alone Link 11 console to a large frigate-size system
• Because of the modularity, upgrades during a ship's lifetime can be easily performed

See also: Thales Nederland - Surveillance Systems and Weapon Control and Targeting