Thales bags Saudi Arabia National Guard ATC deal

Thales has been awarded a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract by the US Air Force to deliver navigation aids and air traffic control tower equipment to Saudi Arabia National Guard.

Under the contract, the company will deliver the technology to support visual and instrument flight rules for fixed and rotary wing aircraft at two new Saudi Arabian airfields around Riyadh including Khashm al-An Airfield and Dirab Airfield.

Thales US ATM business vice-president in charge Tony Lo Brutto said: "The selection by the USAF to deploy a comprehensive navigation aid and ATC technology infrastructure for SANG underscores the market’s trust in Thales’s proven military and civilian airspace solutions.

"Additionally, the opportunity to lay the air traffic management foundation for these new airfields furthers our expertise in deploying high functioning, high accuracy ATM technology in demanding environments."

With the construction currently underway, the Khashm al-An Airfield will feature a 2,000m paved runway and taxiway for fixed-wing aircraft.
Work on Dirab Airfield is yet to begin and it would be capable of serving both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft once operational.

Upon being commissioned, both the airfields will serve the Saudi National Guard’s aircraft.

Thales claims that the technology being deployed at the airfields is certified to comply with all the international criterions.