Ministry of Defence (MoD) movers will enjoy for the first time, real-time access and management of flight bookings across the Royal Air Force (RAF) fleet wherever they are in the world, due to a new IT application developed by Thales UK.


The new ‘Swift2Move’ application meets the UK MoD’s Air Movements Operation (AMO) requirement to give movements staff the ability to manage passenger and freight bookings, flight check-in and aircraft loadsheet calculations in both the UK and at any operational location around the world.


“Thanks to the Thales solution for our Air Movements Operations requirement we have an application that combines an easy to use system from the commercial world with the robustness and security needed for operating in a military environment,” says Air Vice-Marshal Matthew Wiles, Director General Joint Supply Chain in the Defence Equipment & Support Organisation (DE&S).

“The Thales solution provides a step change in capability for defence by enabling a real-time, common picture air logistics solution from the foxhole to HQ,” he adds.


The AMO contract is valued in excess of £27 million over 10 years, including application support and training package provision, and will be in service by mid-2009.

“A partnering approach to the AMO solution between Thales, Fujitsu Services and Mastek has enabled the UK MoD to benefit from a COTS approach to technology and service without compromising security nor intellectual property,” says Peter Batley, Managing Director for Thales’ Security Solutions & Services business in the UK.

“It is a very good example of Thales using its civil and military expertise to provide fast and cost-effective solutions. And in the case of Swift2Move, the application can be scaled up for tri-service logistics and is also applicable for government agencies,” he adds.
 


Swift2Move is designed to operate on the MoD’s Defence Information Infrastructure (DII), reducing the reliance on fixed commercial communications networks and ensuring system availability in all locations and situations. It will be one of the first major applications to be hosted on this service.

The system will interface with existing MoD logistics systems, providing information on the status and location of airfreight during its transit. The system has been designed to allow future asset tracking enhancements, for example asset tracking across the whole supply chain from depot to trench.