Click here to view Alexandre De Juniac's interview on CNBC.com.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for joining us here today for the signing of the LORADS III contract. The signing of the LORADS III contract gives concrete expression to the commitment by the teams at the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Thales to design and build a next-generation air traffic management system for the Asia-Pacific region.
For Thales, this is an enormous success on several scores:
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First of all, it is a technical success. LORADS III — the first phase of which will enter operational service in 2010 — represents the state of the art. The LORADS III system will offer the most advanced functionality to meet the priorities of air traffic controllers. These priorities include the highest levels of safety, environmental integrity and continuity of service for airlines and passengers.I hardly need to remind you of the figures.
Worldwide, passenger numbers have increased by almost fifty percent in the last ten years. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for around thirty percent of total international traffic. And in 2007, traffic growth in the region stood at fourteen percent for domestic flights and seven percent for international flights.
These figures give you some idea of the challenges involved in the LORADS III programme and the requirements that the CAAS and Thales teams will have to meet. The air traffic management system that will be supplied will offer an unparalleled level of redundancy and a very high level of safety and security in order to meet the most stringent demands in a saturated environment for the next decade and beyond.
As traffic volumes continue to rise, we must match that growth with an equally strong commitment to environmental protection. The solutions that will be implemented through the LORADS III programme will make it possible to management traffic flows more efficiently. This in turn will contribute to reduced consumption of aviation fuel and lower levels of noise pollution — particularly by allowing straight-in approaches by aircraft. - Second, Thales owes this success to its capacity to operate locally and develop dedicated regional support centres in close proximity to customers. As part of the LORADS III contract, Thales has opened a new customer support centre in Singapore. This centre will provide maintenance and repair services for the Southeast Asia region. The Thales engineers who have been assigned to this centre have a dual mission. Primarily to train the local CAAS teams. But also to transfer knowledge and the state of the art to make the Singapore facility a world-class centre of excellence for the region — just as Australia and France are today.
- And third, this contract is also a success because it illustrates the trust that CAAS continues to place in Thales. As a company, Thales has worked closely with CAAS as its industrial partner since 1996, when we delivered the LORADS II system under the previous contract.
Together, CAAS and Thales are ready to build the system that will serve as a new standard for the region.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your attention.
LORADS III: Long Range Radar and Display System III
Click here to view photos of the signing ceremony.
Singapore Airshow