SCOUT SV Sights

As you may have seen in a previous edition of GradMail, Thales UK was pleased to announce that it has been selected by General Dynamics and the MOD to supply the primary sighting systems for the UK MOD Scout Programme, for 245 vehicle sets. The contract is worth over £125 million to the Optronics business, which is based at Thales’s Glasgow office, and will provide the most advanced sighting system to date to the British Army. The Scout SV (Specialist Vehicle) is a family of armoured fighting vehicles being developed by General Dynamics UK for the British Army, and Thales UK is a prime contractor for the contract.

The contractual negotiations between General Dynamics UK for the main Production Contracts have been complex, with tight timescales.  Since joining the team, Shaun Finnegan, Graduate Bid & Project Manager, Thales UK, has therefore been supporting the Optronics Commercial Team, that are working on the project, to produce the draft Contract Amendments between Thales and General Dynamics UK,  that will move the project from the existing Demonstration Contracts to the full £125m Production Contracts. In addition, Shaun has also been reviewing and updating the Defcon references (UK MOD standard contracting terms) that apply to the Production Contracts, as these have changed since the original Demonstrator Contracts to develop the sights.  This ensures that the Production Contracts are accurate and up to date, based on current UK MOD Defcons.

Speaking of his involvement, Shaun said, “As a relatively new graduate to Thales, when the opportunity arose to work on a critical bid for, it was an opportunity not to be missed. Although I played a small part in the delivery of the Scout programme, to say I added value to such a large contract is overwhelming. From participating in this bid, my eye for detail, negotiation and professionalism as a graduate has grown immensely. I can surely state that being part of the Scout Programme team in part of the Land and Air Systems business unit (LAS) will benefit my career development into my next graduate placements across Thales UK.