Tacticos in command

Building on a quarter century of continuous evolution, Thales (Stand B-030) is continuing to introduce new functionality and features to its widely sold Tacticos combat management system (CMS).

The latest Baseline 2 version of Tacticos, launched to market in 2011, introduces the MOC Mk 4 console and a new workfloworiented human/machine interface. Also new is the collaboration wall – this comprises a series of display screens, mounted on the combat information centre bulkhead, designed to provide the command team with a collective appreciation of the operational picture and shared awareness of other missioncritical information.

Tacticos Baseline 2 has also seen Thales move to a new productoriented enterprise model. Under this approach, the company is releasing software updates every six months to introduce new functions and/or additional integrations.

Another key selling point is the simulation and stimulation facilities embedded within the system, which mean a complete training environment can be created on board the host platform to support operator skills training and full command team tactical training. Tacticos can be configured so that even if a part of the CMS is being used in training mode, the rest of the system can remain fully operational.

Thales has also adapted Tacticos to serve as a mission management solution for maritime security operations (MSO), and working with the Netherlands’ DMO/ JIVC/SATS software development organisation, has developed a suite of application modules optimised to support MSOtype operations. The Tacticos Baseline 2 system fitted to the two Damen-built Arialah-class 67m offshore patrol vessels delivered to the UAE Critical Infrastructure and Coastal Protection Agency by Abu Dhabi Ship Building is the first to exploit this new applications suite.

In operation, the system is used to collect data over an extended period. A ‘pattern of life’ picture is then assembled, with normal traffic behaviour visualised in trend lines; embedded anomaly detection algorithms provide automatic alerts of unusual deviations or suspicious behaviours. Track data, admissible as legal evidence, can be stored for up to 90 days, with a ‘time slider’ function enabling captured track data to be replayed at a particular point in time for later analysis.