Thales was awarded the CERBERE contract for an undisclosed amount to upgrade the instrumentation for the French Army’s live combat training centers, the company said Jan. 19.
CERBERE aims to enable combined arms task forces to train on conditions close to those in operational deployments. The French defense procurement agency (DGA) awarded the contract to Thales and its partner RUAG Defence France at the end of 2016, the company said.
France’s Thales said CERBERE “enables modern armed forces to track and analyze every phase of a tactical engagement when training for the digitized battlefield.” The new system is based partially on the CENTAURE system currently in service with the French Army.
“The CERBERE programme positions Thales as a world leader in new-generation simulation systems for live combat training, with a diversified range of innovative solutions for operations in both urban areas and open terrain,” the company said in a statement.
The new upgrades are planned to be installed at the Sissonne army base for urban combat training and the Mailly-le-Camp for training in open terrain operations. The company did not disclose upgrade timelines.
Thales said that CERBERE is built around an open architecture and offers development headroom to accommodate new technologies in the future and can be adapted to meet the needs of other countries.
CERBERE furnishes over 2,000 participants (infantry soldiers, armored vehicles, etc.) with tracking and simulation instruments. The Sissonne facility features a 300-building combat village that is fully equipped to track and analyze combat maneuvers both inside and outside structures. Meanwhile, exercises at the Mailly-le-Camp are conducted in open terrain over a training area of 46 sq. miles.
Personnel who join the exercise are issued laser transmitters and receivers to simulate weapon firing and effects. The positioning system is accurate to within one centimeter inside buildings and reports positions and engagements across a high-speed data network in near-real time, Thales said.