EADS Delivers the First COMFUT Squad to the Spanish Ministry of Defense

Released on Thursday, December 20, 2007

EADS in Spain has delivered the system for the first COMFUT (COMbatiente FUTuro) squad, the future Spanish Army soldier modernisation programme, to the Ministry of Defence's Procurement Office (Dirección General de Armamento y Material, DGAM). The squad comprises twelve individual comprehensive kits.

The delivery took place on time and represents the first important milestone of the contract, which was launched in September 2006 with the choice of EADS as the best bidder from the COMFUT competition for the design and development phase.

EADS acts as the prime contractor and leads a group of Spanish subcontractors, amongst which are Indra, Fedur, GMV, Iturri y Amopack. It is the responsibility of EADS to integrate their elements into the overall COMFUT system.

Pablo de Bergia, Head of the EADS Defence & Security Division in Spain, stated: "The COMFUT programme turned out to be a keystone for our division, as it does not only prove that we are a leader in systems integration and a company that drags the Spanish industry in this sector, but as it also represents a blueprint for similar programmes that are about to begin in other European countries. In particular, I want to refer to the Swiss IMESS programme for the modernization of infantry soldiers, that recently has been awarded to EADS."

A new phase of the programme will start now, during which the industries and the Programme Office, based at the Academia de Infantería in Toledo, will conduct a first series of COMFUT trials. These tests will support the validation of the contractual requirements and will proof the performance of the newly developed equipment. Based on the same contract, the optimization of the design and the production of equipment for two further squads will follow.

The COMFUT programme is aimed at enhancing efficiency and protection of the Spanish soldiers and has required the development of special systems. The most important innovations have been reached with advanced solutions for:

Optronics

Command and control

Energy sources

Ballistic equipment and protection

Field training duel and other support systems.

The new equipment will enable the soldier to be part of integrated, network centric operations. Thanks to new sensors and a data link providing information received from other team members of the squad, the COMFUT-equipped soldier will gain full situational awareness. Exact real-time information about his own position on the battlefield as well as the location of other squad members and of his enemies will outstandingly increase his efficiency. At the same time, thanks to the ballistic protection and the appositely designed equipment, the "soldier of the future" will enhance his security and comfort, being able to operate day and night, and under any meteorological conditions.

The delivery of the COMFUT systems to the remaining squads, which will complete the section, is scheduled for the end of 2008.

This R&D programme is financed with a budget of € 24,5 million by the Subdirección de Tecnología y Centros (SubTeCen), belonging to the DGAM.