Thales has been selected as Airbus Military’s industrial partner to support operations of the Airbus A400M Atlas training centre on the French Air Force’s Orléans-Bricy base (Air Force Base 123) near Orléans.

As well as supplying the A400M Full Flight Simulator (FFS), Thales will have responsibility for planning training activities, supporting Airbus and Air Force training staff, implementing training systems and maintaining the simulators. This is the first time that the Direction générale de l'armement (DGA - French defence procurement agency) has entrusted a French Air Force training centre operations to an industry partner.

This training centre, which has received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) qualification, will be used by Airbus Military to provide ab initio training for A400M crews, and by the French Air force to provide advanced tactical training. The Full Flight Simulator supplied by Thales utilises aircraft hardware and software to represent the A400M cockpit configuration, and simulates the ground and flight operations of the aircraft in various natural and tactical environments.

It includes an enhanced field-of-view visual system that is capable of supporting training in all aircraft manoeuvres, including air-to-air refuelling and low-level tactical operations.
On-board and off-board instructor stations and a record and replay system to aid crew briefing and debriefing are also provided. The contract runs until 31 December 2017 and further consolidates Thales’s leadership as an operator of training centres for military aircraft and helicopter crews worldwide.