On exhibit for the first time in the Thales pavilion is a complete Amascos system. This is the French company’s maritime surveillance mission system, and this is a booming market, according to Pierre Eric Pommelet, Thales executive vice-president of defense mission systems.
The fully integrated Amascos system has reduced weight and power requirements compared to older systems, Thales claims. It ties together radar, Elint, electronic warfare, optronic and acoustic sensors, as well as communications systems and tactical datalinks. Amascos has a modular architecture that enables it to be adapted to smaller aircraft doing surveillance from a single console only, to large aircraft for the anti-surface and anti-submarine missions, which will have four or five consoles. Each console position has two screens that are redundant and interchangeable. The system can be reconfigured during a mission, if the tactical coordinator desires, and this means the aircraft can stay airborne for longer, resulting in a potentially smaller fleet.
