Naval forces

In the face of a growing range of ever-changing threats, the navies and maritime authorities that keep citizens safe and protect their interests at sea and on the coasts rely on Thales.

With 100 years’ experience and a worldwide footprint, we help naval forces to achieve operational superiority as a result of our trusted solutions, which cover the whole operations chain, from threat detection to neutralisation, and from mission preparation to post analysis.

From artificial intelligence to unmanned systems, we are constantly innovating to anticipate future needs – developing advanced technologies that span electronic components, system architectures and integrated ‘systems of systems’ for collaborative combat.

Our total commitment to customers means we can deliver the most reliable and resilient systems and services, from seabed to space. At a time when naval combat is evolving rapidly, our cybersecure sensors, effectors, communications, combat management and electronic warfare systems provide state-of-the art solutions, from unmanned warfare to high-end combat.

Thales provides cutting-edge Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) solutions to protect Naval Forces against a wide range of air and missile threats, particularly in highly contested environments.

Our solutions facilitate seamless and fast collaborative surveillance and engagement by integrating advanced sensor suites such as ARTEMIS Night and Day Infra Red Seach and Track system for persistent and precise detection and tracking, as well as kinetic and electronic warfare effectors to effectively neutralize diverse threats and dominate the electromagnetic spectrum. Furthermore, our combat management system Tacticos ensures optimal coordination between surveillance and engagement systems, contributing to superior defence capabilities.

To acquire and preserve information superiority, Thales securely process and manage information at sea through connectivity (radios and SATCOM), cloud, command & control, Tactical Data Links and cyber capabilities.

With cybersecure robust communications and the integration of trusted artificial intelligence, Thales' IAMD system stands as a reliable defence solution for Naval Task Groups confronting air, missile, or saturation attacks. Notably, this capability aligns with the acute concerns recognized by NATO regarding the evolving challenges in naval warfare.

To  counter  new  and  evolving  threats  in  littoral  environments, collaborative surveillance is key not only to monitor with coastal assets but also to predict future ship positions several hours ahead in time. Platforms equipped with Tacticos Maritime Security Operation (MSO) can now observe and predict threats 4 hours ahead.

With a combination of land-based and ship-based sensors like CoastWatcher Radar, NS50 Radar and EO/IR sensors, threats can be quickly detected and engaged through collaborative engagement from USVs equipped with RapidFire and Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM). Complementary air-based Electronic warfare systems and surveillance radar on-board manned or unmanned platforms provide superior situational awareness.

Our communications means guarantee resilient and cybersecure connectivity and TopLink SANDY, our situational awareness display, allows the Tactical Data Links to enter the Offshore Patrol Vessel.

Drones have become a major concern for the Armed Forces and especially for the Navies.  Indeed,  Naval Forces  have  to  defend  both  harbours,  maritime  ships  and  naval platforms against surface and aerial drones.

To meet these challenges, Thales provides an end-to-end solution combining shore and offshore components to detect and track (land-based CoastWatcher 100 Radar or ship-based NS50 Radar), to manage all the assets (Tacticos MSO) and, to suppress the threat (with electromagnetic E-Trap effector or communication jammer Eclipse) or to neutralize it with RapidFire, LMMor rockets delivered from a ship, an helicopter or a UAV.

This integrated solution relies on robust, long range and cybersecure naval communications.

Ensuring coastal waters and shipping lanes are free from naval mines is vital for free movement of the world’s maritime traffic.

Thales’ market leading systems provide scalable solutions spanning conventional, hybrid and autonomous mine countermeasures. 

Our Pathmaster autonomous solutions are  proven  at  sea,  and  benefit  from  the  ultra-performant SAMDIS multi-aspect Synthetic Aperture Sonar coupled with Mi-Map, an intuitive sonar data analysis toolkit powered by AI.

Our communications solutions (radios and SATCOM) enable reliable, high-speed communication within the different assets.

From Blue Watcher hull-mounted sonars, Flash dipping sonar and SonoFlash sonobuoys, up to the most sophisticated variable depth sonar Captas-4, Thales sonar solutions for anti-submarine warfare capitalize on almost 60 years’ experience, serving around 40 navies.

Feeded with data coming from the collaborative ASW assets, sonars on-boarded on naval platforms, aircraft or just launched at sea, BlueScan significantly enhances the underwater tactical picture and thereby improving multi-domain situational awareness.

Furthermore, for saturated environment, Thales develops airborne surveillance radar and  electronic warfare systems capable of quickly sorting the data while maintaining the tactical picture.

With communications technologies such as HF XL wideband HF, Thales brings new advantages to anti-submarine warfare.

Today, submarines are increasingly operating near coastlines, in shallow waters and in complex acoustic environments. This shift in operating conditions requires modular acoustic systems with high performance.

Thales develops sonar suites with open, interoperable architectures. These solutions feature high-performance sensors, integrated processing electronics, and advanced user interfaces. By combining subsystems like bow-mounted sonar, flank array sonar, obstacle avoidance sonar, intercept sonar, and passive towed-array sonar, Thales provides submarines with full situational awareness and threat assessment.

In addition, Thales non-acoustic solutions such as electromagnetic systems (Radar Electronic Support Measures R-ESM, communication) and optronic masts enable to gather additional information and perform ISR missions. Thales DigitalCrew AI software enhances situational awareness by automatically detecting, classifying, ranging and tracking objects of interest. We are also mastering Inertial Navigation Solutions (INS) for Resilient navigation in electronic warfare naval environment.

Thales TopLink solutions bring situational awareness to submarines in a highly integrated solutions that perfectly fit to the submarine integration constraints. And our solutions cover communications needs (radios and SATCOM) in the submarine’s various postures, from short to long distances, while guaranteeing its discretion.

For any Navies, crew and equipment availability is a fundamental. To be ready and prepared requires for all personnel, to be trained, skills retained and equipment available.

Thales provides training solutions, and MPA training including simulation optimizes the resources without jeopardize the quality.

In addition, with worldwide location, Thales offer customized support services to meet Navies expectations.

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