Thales Becomes the Supplier of the Only Military Data Transmission Terminal Interoperable with Any Type of Platform

In late 2021, Thales’s TMA 6000 datalink terminal was certified compliant with Implementation 2 of the NATO standard STANAG 7085 by the French defence procurement agency (DGA), following the completion of successful testing. The TMA 6000 had already been certified compliant with STANAG 7085 Implementation 1 (Common Data Link) by the US Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) in late 2014. The new certification makes the TMA 6000 the first, and so far, only, datalink terminal to comply with both implementations of STANAG 7085.

In air combat and allied operations, increasingly large volumes of data need to be shared, more securely and rapidly than ever, among allied users. The TMA 6000 is a high-data-rate line-of-sight (LOS) data-link terminal operating in the NATO Ku band. Combined with an antenna system and amplifier, it transmits real-time data gathered by sensors on board aircraft (video streams and images as well as radar and electromagnetic data) to ground or naval stations hundreds of kilometers away.

STANAG 7085 ensures interoperability for NATO forces. More specifically, it allows NATO allies to exchange raw data gathered by airborne sensors. STANAG 7085-certified datalink systems help shorten the OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act), allowing armed forces to leverage all available information, consider possible options and rapidly make the best decision to gain an advantage over the adversary.

The TMA 6000 is in service on a wide range of high-value aircraft and naval vessels, including combat aircraft (such as the Rafale), special-mission aircraft (ALSR2), helicopters, combat UAVs, MALE UAVs, tactical UAVs, aircraft carriers, and frigates.