Cassidian, the defence and security division of EADS, joins forces with Brazilian systems specialist Atech, São Paulo, to equip the new EC725 helicopters of the Brazilian Navy with an advanced mission management system.

As part of the procurement of 50 EC725 helicopters by the Brazilian armed forces, Eurocopter and its Brazilian subsidiary Helibras signed a contract with Atech and Cassidian to develop and manufacture the tactical data management system (TDMS) for eight navy helicopters. The contract worth over €40m will be concluded by 2017.

The Eurocopter/Helibras consortium’s H-XBR programme will equip the Brazilian armed forces as part of the National Defence Strategy, which established the mid- and long-term activities to modernise the defence sector in Brazil, supporting development of infrastructure and resources and the restructuring of the Brazilian defence industry.

“For Atech, to take part in this consortium, working on this Ministry of Defence programme under the coordination of the Brazilian Air Force, is a great honour and also a great responsibility”, declares the Atech CEO, Tarcisio Takashi Muta. “Atech is dedicated to the mastering of mission critical technologies. Our presence in this consortium as a supplier of the mission system confirms Atech’s experience in technology absorption projects, airborne systems and high performance tactical communications systems. We will participate in the development, production and support phases of the project, enabling Atech to further on maintain these systems. Atech’s involvement in this project at this level is in sync with the National Defence Strategy, which also advocates the country’s autonomy in defence technology systems.”

“Our companies have an impressive track record in the field of mission management systems”, explained Dr Rolf Wirtz, Head of Mission Avionics at Cassidian. “Together, we will provide the Brazilian Navy with an extremely reliable and versatile system to enable the performance of maritime surveillance missions.”