Airborne intelligence program to utilize CUGE EW capability
NewsJanuary 17, 2020
FRANCE. The French Armament General Directorate (DGA) awarded Thales and Dassault Aviation a contract to equip the French Army's future strategic intelligence aircraft with the CUGE universal electronic warfare capability. The contract covers the first two aircraft on the program.
CUGE will ultimately be deployed by three Falcon X aircraft, built by Dassault Aviation, to replace the two Transall C-160 Gabriel aircraft in service with the French Air Force from 2025.
Thales, in partnership with Dassault Aviation, the DGA, and the armed forces, has developed a new generation of signals intelligence (SIGINT) technologies under several study programs. Thales will produce all the sensors for the SIGINT payload and integrate the overall system on board Dassault Aviation's Falcon 8X aircraft.
These new technologies will enable the system to detect and analyze radio and radar signals simultaneously using Thales' multi-polarization antennas and the use of its artificial intelligence technologies to automate data processing. The program also includes a ground-based training platform.
