Thales-Boeing consortium signs FRES SOSI contract

A Franco-American consortium has signed a contract to oversee management of a programme to provide the army’s new generation of armoured vehicles.

Thales UK and Boeing signed the contract at the end of last week, the first to be agreed for the £16bn equipment procurement programme.

The initial stage of the contract will last for six months and is worth £4m.

The Ministry of Defence named the Thales-Boeing team as the preferred bidder last year. The Thales-Boeing consortium will take on the role of the “System Of Systems Integrator” (SOSI), responsible for co-ordination of the programme, including system management.

The SOSI will be part of an alliance being put together for the Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) programme aimed at building and supporting a fleet of 3,000 vehicles. The alliance will include the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the vehicle designer and a vehicle integrator.

The contract signing comes amid speculation that delivery of the first set of vehicles could be delayed by up to two years from an original – but informal – date of 2012. This would be a huge blow to the army; General Sir Richard Dannatt, army chief, said last year that FRES was the priority after support for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

FRES Utility Vehicle contenders (L-R):
General Dynamics Piranha, Nexter VBCI, Artec Boxer

Industry executives had expected the MOD to announce the winner for the next stage of the programme, to provide the vehicle design, last month. Three consortiums – General Dynamics of the US, Nexter of France and Artec, a German-Dutch consortium – have been competing for the role.

Source: S. Pfeifer - Financial Times

Related Defence Supplier Guidance

• Programme Overview: UK MOD Future Rapid Effect System (FRES)

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