LONDON – Thales Group has been selected by the European aircraft manufacturing giant, Airbus, to produce its new fully connected FMS.
What is an FMS? & The New Agreement
The FMS, otherwise known as Flight Management System, is the main brain of an aircraft.
It is used to prepare each and every flight an aircraft does, where it will calculate important information for the flight crew in order to follow a flight plan, input takeoff and approach information, and aircraft fuel information, and it also allows them to follow air traffic control instructions.
For the new FMS that Thales will be producing for Airbus, it is a homologation of the PureFlyt system that has been specifically adapted to meet Airbus’ requirements.
PureFlyt is the most powerful FMS solution available for operators, where it will help minimize crew workload, fatigue, as well as human errors.
Not only this, but PureFlyt will also optimize the aircraft trajectory for much more economic fuel consumption and can help reduce noise pollution, aiding many operators’ carbon emission goals.
As we know, human error is a factor that is very difficult to eliminate, and even the most minor of errors can have serious consequences.
So, to help combat this, the PureFlyt system has an intuitive interface and improved decision-making technologies that can respond to inputs five to ten times faster than any other FMS, allowing the pilots to focus on flying the aircraft, rather than having to wait around for the FMS to respond.
Not only this but the PureFlyt FMS has been designed to be fully connected and cyber secure, where the system will link with open-world data and real-time weather information to improve its usability for flight crews, as well as being fully connected with the crew EFB (Electronic Flight Bag) and the airline’s operational control centers.
Commenting on the new agreement with Airbus, Yannick Assouad, Executive Vice President of Avionics at Thales said:
“As the only player in in-flight management technologies in Europe, Thales is proud to contribute to the digital transformation of the airways with our flight management system and delighted to have this opportunity to continue to support our partner Airbus.”
“Our connected and cyber-secure solution will improve interoperability for airlines and pilots and optimize flight paths to help reduce the carbon footprint of airline operations.”
The new FMS system will be put into place in some of Airbus’ main commercial aircraft. Those are the Airbus A320, A330, and A350 series. Thales also plans for the new system to enter full service with these aircraft at the end of 2026.
Who is Thales Group?
Thales Group is a global technology leader that specializes in digital and deep tech innovations, such as Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), connectivity, cybersecurity, and quantum technology.
The origins of the company go all the way back to 1893 when Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston (CFTH) was formed to operate the patents of the US Thomson-Houston Electric Corporation.
CFTH since then merged with Compagnie Generale de Telegraphie Sans Fil (CSF) in 1968 to form Thomson-CSF.
The Thomson-CSF group then merged with Aerospatiale, the manufacturer of the famous Concorde supersonic aircraft, Alcatel, Dassault Industries, and Thomson SA, shortly after the merge, the company become a private entity with the French government reduced its stake in the company to 40%.
This then drove the renaming of the entire company to what it is now known as Thales Group in the year 2000.
