12th Dec: PARIS (AFX) -
Thales and the shipyard DCN have been awarded a 20 mln eur contract by the French procurement agency DGA to proceed to the next design phase of the PA2 aircraft carrier programme, the two companies said in a joint press release.
Under the new contract, DCN and Thales will proceed with a preliminary design for tailoring the British CVF aircraft carrier to the needs of the French navy.
The companies said that the project will progress from the design phase to actual production in late 2006.
The PA2 joint venture, set up in June last year with the aim of leading the PA2 project from design to completion, is 35 pct held by Thales and 65 pct held by DCN.