Thales and French Army are boosting land forces equipment maintenance
The MCO-Terre[1] 2025 through-life support transformation plan is one of the mainstays of efforts by the French Ministry for the Armed Forces to improve the availability of high-value defence systems in increasingly complex environments, in particular by developing innovative digital services. The plan aims to improve support services for hardware, software and security management, and the SIMMT[2] is relying on Thales to help it achieve that goal as part of a strategic partnership signed at the Eurosatory exhibition in June 2018.
At the request of the land forces equipment and systems (SIMMT), Thales and other French industry partners will conduct at least 40% of all maintenance activities. Thales has played a thought leadership role in developing government/industry cooperation on the SIMMT’s MCO-Terre plan with a view to improving system availability, optimising costs, capitalising on the defence ministry’s own resources and sharing knowledge and know-how. The joint support platform is being set up by the land forces industrial maintenance service (SIMTER[3]) and Thales in order to increase overall performance as the roles of the French armed forces evolve. The platform is located at the 14th equipment support base (BSMAT[4]) in Nouâtre in Central France.
The ultimate aim of Thales’s strategy of innovation in service provision is to enable customers to make the best decisions at every decisive moment. Automated interconnection of the information systems in service with the defence ministry and its industry partners, and the use of RFID technology to store and retrieve data remotely, provide all stakeholders with a shared, comprehensive view of the overall support chain. The solution saves time, improves traceability and boosts reliability to optimise equipment fleet management.
“With the new organisation and secure access to innovative services, the armed forces are stepping up to the challenges of the digital transformation to offer a customised support solution for operational units. The joint support management platform ensures that high-value systems are available at the right time and in the right place so that the French land forces can conduct their decisive missions effectively and efficiently.” Florence Gourgeon, Thales Vice President for Customer Support and Services activities, Secure Co
[1] MCO-Terre: Maintenance en Condition Opérationnelle – Terre
[2] SIMMT: Structure Intégrée du Maintien en condition opérationnelle des Matériels Terrestres
[3] SIMTER: Service de la Maintenance Industrielle Terrestre
[4] BSMAT: Base de Soutien de Matériels