Paris — France’s procurement agency has signed a contract worth 22.6 million euros ($33.4 million) with French systems company Thales and Sabca of Belgium for a partial modernization of cockpit avionics of Alphajet training aircraft, the Délégation Générale pour l’Armement said in a statement.
Under the deal, the companies will design, develop and supply kits to upgrade 20 Alphajet trainers for lead-in training for fighter pilots and navigators moving on to the Rafale combat planes.
The modernization includes fitting head-up displays, an air-to-air and air-to-ground fire control, and combined inertial and GPS navigation system. The program also includes simulation of system failure in flight. The first upgraded plane is due in mid-2009.
A first stage of the modernization involves study, qualification, development and supply of kits by Thales and Sabca, and then integration of the kits by the Defense Ministry’s aeronautical industry department at Clermont-Ferrand, central France.
The Alphajet was developed in cooperation by Dassault Aviation and Dornier of Germany.
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