16:06 GMT, March 8, 2010 Colombes | Thales has signed a €240M contract with the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) to extend the French Army’s RITA (Réseau Intégré de Transmissions Automatiques or Automated Integrated Communications Network). As part of this contract, named RITA N4, Thales will provide the Army with high-performance IP communications systems for battalion Command Posts. This success further strengthens Thales’s position as prime contractor of secure tactical IP networks for the armed forces.

Having delivered RITA for levels 1 – 3, Thales proposes this new version of RITA, intended for Army level 4, or the “Groupement Tactique Inter-Armes” (GTIA) or Combined Arms Task Force, a new level of command to be networked with higher ranks thanks to RITA.

As a result, the GTIA will be continuously provided with services at all command levels, from 1 to 4, such as e-mail, attachments, Voice over IP.

“We are proud that the Army and DGA have once again put their trust in us. This RITA N4 system will assist the Army in their increasingly complex missions”, explained Jean-Michel Lagarde, Thales Vice President, in charge of Network & Infrastructure Systems. “This marks the first step towards an all-IP network, which is in keeping with the DGA’s ultimate ambition to equip all the armed forces with the same system, at all different levels of command.”

RITA N4 is an extension of the RITA 2G network, which Thales has been developing since the start of the decade. The transmission platforms implemented will include both the SYRACUSE satellite and CHF LOS (Line Of Sight) radio links.

The RITA network is currently deployed by the Army on several fields of operations.