SELEX SENSORS AND AIRBORNE SYSTEMS SECURES MULTI-MILLION POUND DEAL FOR TRANCHE 2 EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON EQUIPMENT

SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems, a Finmeccanica company, has secured an £850 million order, to manufacture the EuroDASS Electronic Warfare suite for the second production batch of the Eurofighter Typhoon programme.

EuroDASS is designed to enhance aircraft survivability with an advanced suite of self defence sensors and countermeasures. These detect and evaluate potential threats at maximum range and then automatically deploy the most effective countermeasures without the need for crew intervention.

SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems leads the EuroDASS consortium, which also comprises Elettronica of Italy, INDRA of Spain and EADS of Germany. The EuroDASS consortium supplies the state-of-the-art defensive aids suite to the Typhoon.

This order, combined with the £100 million development order awarded for EuroDASS earlier this year and a £500 million order to manufacture the CAPTOR radar system awarded in December 2004, brings the total orders awarded to SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems for Tranche 2 of the Eurofighter Typhoon programme to approximately £1.5 billion.

Nick Franks, Managing Director of SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems in the UK said, ‘This new contract builds on the success achieved by SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems on the Eurofighter Typhoon programme over the last decade and strengthens the company's position as the leading supplier of electronic warfare self-protection systems to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD).'

Tranche 2 is the second production order of 236 Typhoon aircraft for the four nation Eurofighter Typhoon programme which is a collaborative project at both government and industry levels between Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

The production phase extends to the last quarter of 2012 and will provide a valuable workstream for SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems at its Basildon, Edinburgh and Luton sites, and the EuroDASS partners throughout Europe.

Nick Franks said "In close collaboration with our partners, Elettronica, INDRA and EADS, we have been working towards this achievement for several years. The order for EuroDASS within Tranche 2 represents the largest contract ever awarded to SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems. This major defence procurement commitment by the customer represents a significant vote of confidence in the Typhoon programme and in what we have designed and are delivering. The aircraft clearly has the customer's confidence and this is good news in terms of export opportunities and future capability enhancements.�

SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems has been involved in all stages of the programme and has undertaken contracts for design and development, production investment, Tranche 1 production (148 aircraft) plus associated support requirements.

Tranche 2 is the second of three production batches planned.