Thales Training & Simulation
Encyclopedia
Thales Training & Simulation Ltd is an international company with experience in simulation and training. It is part of the Thales Group
.
for the airline and military training.
It has four main manufacturing plants:
In addition, the company has joint ventures and/or customer support hubs in the USA, Saudi Arabia
, China
, Thailand
, etc.
in West Sussex. In 1981, the parent company British Electric Traction
changed the company name to Rediffusion Simulation Limited (RSL) to take advantage of the then familiar Rediffusion
brand name.
In 1988, the company was bought by Hughes Aircraft
and renamed Hughes Rediffusion Simulation (HRSL).
In 1994, the company was taken over by Thomson-CSF
, who merged it with Link Miles (acquired by Thomson-CSF in 1990) and renamed the company Thomson Training & Simulation (TTSL). The merged companies were based at the Manor Royal
site at Crawley
.
In 1998, the simulation business of Wormald Technlogy of Australia was bought and renamed Thales Training & Simulation Pty Ltd (TTSP).
In the United States, Burtek, bought in 1979 by Thomson-CSF
, was renamed Thomson Training & Simulation Inc.
At the end of 2000, the company was renamed Thales Training & Simulation when the parent company re-branded using the Thales name.
The CEO
is Alex Dorrian.
In March 2009, Steve Grinham was appointed Vice President and Managing Director of Thales Training and Simulation.
Thales Group
The Thales Group is a French electronics company delivering information systems and services for the aerospace, defense, transportation and security markets...
.
Overview
Thales Training & Simulation is one of only a few companies worldwide that build full flight simulatorsFlight simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and various aspects of the flight environment. This includes the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of their controls and other aircraft systems, and how they react to the external...
for the airline and military training.
It has four main manufacturing plants:
- United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(CrawleyCrawleyCrawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
, West SussexWest SussexWest Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
) producing fixed wing aircraft simulators for civil market; - FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(Cergy-PontoiseCergy-PontoiseCergy-Pontoise is a new town in France, in the Val d'Oise département, northwest of Paris on the Oise River. It owes its name to two of the communes that it covers, Cergy and Pontoise....
) responsible for the military aircraft, military helicopter and land vehicle (tanks, trucks) simulation product ranges; - GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(KoblenzKoblenzKoblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
) where the small arms trainers are manufactured; - AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
) which addresses AustralasiaAustralasiaAustralasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
requirements.
In addition, the company has joint ventures and/or customer support hubs in the USA, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, etc.
Products and services
Thales have built and now operate numerous types of aircraft simulators, including:- Fixed based — No motion platform, normally housed in a dome, commonly military application. Full flight simulators can also be fixed based, these are generally basic training devices that have no visual and are control trainers only.
- Full flight simulators — A fully immersed simulation that has a motion platform, can be either hydraulic or electric (newer simulators).
- Military simulators — These can simulator parts of aircraft (fuselage), water based vehicles or ground systems, they are designed to simulate the look and/or feel of the environment.
- The range of services offered in support of military simulators now extends to both PFIPrivate Finance InitiativeThe private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
and PPP contracts. Thales Training & Simulation provides the Synthetic training service for Tornado GR4 Royal Air Force Pilots and Navigators. A similar service is provided to train Army Air Corps Lynx Mk 7 & Mk 9Westland LynxThe Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to the development of both battlefield and naval variants...
Pilots. A further Thales training service took over the operation of several existing Royal Air Force Simulator training centres, Nimrod MR Mk2, C130K, VC10, Tristar, Tucano, Jaguar, Tornado F3 and SeaKing Mk3, under a PPP arrangement. As the PFI model has been adopted outside the UK, Thales is also part of a consortium to supply NH90 helicopter synthetic training to the German airforce under a PFI framework. Thales Training & Simulation has a joint venture with Eurocopter running a synthetic helicopter training facility, Helisim. - Thales also manufactures driver simulators for trucks (heavy goods vehicles), busses and military vehicles including tanks.
- The range of simulators extends to nuclear power plant simulators (for operator training) and small arms simulators for training army, police, etc
Company history
The British company was incorporated as Redifon in 1946. In 1948, the company moved to the then new town of CrawleyCrawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
in West Sussex. In 1981, the parent company British Electric Traction
British Electric Traction
British Electric Traction Company Limited, renamed BET plc in 1985, was a large British industrial conglomerate. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was acquired by Rentokil in 1996, and the merged company is now known as Rentokil Initial.- Early history :The company was founded as...
changed the company name to Rediffusion Simulation Limited (RSL) to take advantage of the then familiar Rediffusion
Rediffusion
Rediffusion was a business which distributed radio and TV signals through wired relay networks. The business gave rise to a number of other companies, including Associated-Rediffusion, later known as Rediffusion London, one of the first companies to win a terrestrial ITV franchise in the UK...
brand name.
In 1988, the company was bought by Hughes Aircraft
Hughes Aircraft
Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded in 1932 by Howard Hughes in Culver City, California as a division of Hughes Tool Company...
and renamed Hughes Rediffusion Simulation (HRSL).
In 1994, the company was taken over by Thomson-CSF
Thomson-CSF
Thomson-CSF was a major electronics and defence contractor. In December 2000 it was renamed Thales Group.-History:In 1879 Elihu Thomson and Edwin Houston formed the Thomson-Houston Electric Company in the United States....
, who merged it with Link Miles (acquired by Thomson-CSF in 1990) and renamed the company Thomson Training & Simulation (TTSL). The merged companies were based at the Manor Royal
Manor Royal, Crawley
Manor Royal is an industrial zone within the town of Crawley in West Sussex, England. Manor Royal is in the north of the town near to Gatwick airport. The area is devoted to light industry and offices and was designed for industry as part of the Crawley new town project...
site at Crawley
Crawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
.
In 1998, the simulation business of Wormald Technlogy of Australia was bought and renamed Thales Training & Simulation Pty Ltd (TTSP).
In the United States, Burtek, bought in 1979 by Thomson-CSF
Thomson-CSF
Thomson-CSF was a major electronics and defence contractor. In December 2000 it was renamed Thales Group.-History:In 1879 Elihu Thomson and Edwin Houston formed the Thomson-Houston Electric Company in the United States....
, was renamed Thomson Training & Simulation Inc.
At the end of 2000, the company was renamed Thales Training & Simulation when the parent company re-branded using the Thales name.
The CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
is Alex Dorrian.
In March 2009, Steve Grinham was appointed Vice President and Managing Director of Thales Training and Simulation.
External links
- Training & Simulation page on the Thales website