Thales Deployable ILS selected by U.S. Air Force

Thales has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to provide Deployable Instrument Landing Systems (D-ILS). The systems will be used in airfield environments where the ability to provide precision guidance to aircraft on final approach during low visibility or low-ceiling weather conditions – while also being able to quickly setup, activate, break-down and re-locate – are critical.

The Thales D-ILS will provide the equivalent of fixed-based Instrument Landing System capability at tactical airfields and environmentally diverse regions such as areas of natural disaster or humanitarian relief efforts.

The Thales D-ILS is a COTS system based on the Thales ILS 420 – a fixedbased, dual frequency ILS which is the industry’s next generation ILS with more than 700 fixed-base systems chosen worldwide for civil and military applications.

The contract being announced includes delivery of two Production Representative Units (PRUs) along with technical orders and provisional technical documentation, training development and conduct, system analysis, architecture and engineering, and contractor support. The USAF plans to purchase up to 38 systems over the coming years.

Thales has extensive experience in designing and supplying Navigation and Surveillance systems in configurations that meet the unique needs of customers worldwide. For more than 80 years, Thales has partnered with the aviation community, providing air traffic management solutions to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as Air Navigation Service Providers and airports worldwide. Today, over 99 percent of the instrument landing systems at U.S. airports are Thales systems, and more than 7,000 Thales navigation aids are deployed around the world.

“With Thales D-ILS, the U.S. Air Force will receive an easily supportable, adaptable and resilient precision approach capability that all joint, coalition and civil ILS-equipped aircraft will be able to use worldwide.” – Alan Pellegrini, President and CEO, Thales USA

Key points

• Thales D-ILS will provide the equivalent of fixed-based Instrument Landing System capability at tactical airfields and environmentally diverse regions such as areas of natural disaster or humanitarian relief efforts.
• The D-ILS offers significantly improved reliability,maintainability and supportability over legacy deployable Precision Approach Radar systems.
• The contract includes delivery of two Production Representative Units and related documentation and services.