Thales secures Australia’s skies

Thales signed a framework agreement with Airservices Australia to start advanced work on a vast programme to modernise the country’s Civil and Military Air Traffic Management (ATM) infrastructure.

Known as the OneSKY Programme, this agreement represents one of the most far reaching ATM modernisations ever seen in Australia and is a crucial contract for Thales and for Airservices Australia. For the first time in history, one company will provide a fully integrated and harmonized system for civil and military ATM – enhancing the already safe and efficient movement of millions of passengers in Australia every year.

OneSKY comes soon after the Marshall Programme, the multibillion pound sterling contract for the modernisation and operation of the UK Armed Forces ATM systems, awarded by the UK Government in 2014 to the Thales/NATS joint venture Aquila. Together the contracts reinforce Thales’s global ATM leadership and unique ability to leverage expertise in both civil and military domains.

Under the framework agreement, Thales will work with Airservices Australia and Defence to create a single system capable of seamlessly managing all Australian civil and military air traffic, incorporating advanced technologies developed by Thales to handle the world’s most dense air traffic regions and to manage predicted future increases in air traffic volumes.
Through programmes like LORADS III in Singapore and 4-Flight in France, Thales develops advanced technology suited to the management of larger and ever more complex ATM modernisations needed to support growing air traffic.