At the end of March 2007, the last of the four air-defence corvettes ordered by the South African Ministry of Defence was delivered to its home port in Simon's Town, marking the culmination of a multidomestic programme initiated in late 1999.
Government requirement
The Ministry of Defence was looking to acquire the best combat system technologies available for the South African Navy. It also wanted local industry to benefit from its programme to build four 3,500 tonnes corvettes (type Meko A-200).
Solution implemented with Thales
In December 1999, the South African government awarded a contract to the ESACC consortium for the design, construction and delivery of four corvettes and their combat systems.
South Africans, French and Germans on the team
ESACC brings together German Frigate Consortium GFC, comprising German naval shipyards Blohm & Voss and HDW (now both part of the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems group), and TNA, a consortium comprising Thales Naval France (now part of DCNS) and Thales's South African partner African Defence Systems (ADS).
For this complex programme, GFC was in charge of the platform and propulsion systems, built in Germany, with TNA handling ship and combat system design and integration in Simon's Town, South Africa.
Proven combat management system
The combat system features French-developed sensors and weapons and is controlled by a Tavitac combat management system (CMS). Tavitac has already proven its capability on the French Navy's La Fayette-class frigates and the Sawari programme with Saudi Arabia. The South African customer was closely involved throughout the programme, sending a permanent team to supervise operations at the Hamburg and Kiel shipyards in Germany. Meanwhile, a team of systems engineers from TNA worked in Germany during the conceptual design phase from 2000 onwards to plan integration of the combat systems on South Africa's warships.
Shared methodology
The success of this partnership owes a great deal to the shared systems engineering methodology, which was developed by Thales and applied from design concept right through to software and systems qualification - and of course to the pragmatism and determination of all the partners. The four corvettes were delivered to the South African Navy between February 2006 and March 2007, and will enter operational service at the end of 2007. This is a perfect example of how Thales's multidomestic strategy empowers client nations to secure the role of their local industries on major defence procurement programmes.
ESACC: European South African Corvettes Consortium
SAN-PC: South African Navy - Patrol Corvettes