Order worth €1 Bn to EADS and Siemens

EADS has secured the contract to construct the digital radio system for the German security authorities and organizations (BOS). The contract has been awarded in writing by the Procurement Office in the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Within the scope of this contract, EADS will act as prime contractor and, together with Siemens, construct a nationwide TETRA digital radio network by 31 December 2010. In all, the contract has a potential volume of up to € 1 billion for EADS. The contract award decision made today by the Federal Ministry of the Interior was based on the evaluation of the written offer of 6 December 2005, an extensive laboratory test to verify the proposed technical characteristics and field tests conducted in Berlin and Baden-Württemberg to check further system functions under the tactical operational conditions. Both in its written offer and in all test phases EADS was able to successfully demonstrate that it was presenting the most cost-effective bid in the competition. "In the BOS digital radio project, the company's understanding for the needs of the security authorities and its comprehensive expertise make EADS a reliable partner for the public sector," stated Stefan Zoller, Member of the EADS Executive Committee and CEO of Defence & Security Systems. "With this project, we are extremely pleased to make an important and urgently needed contribution to Germany's homeland security." The contract now awarded is the prerequisite for the realization of subnetworks before the end of this year. By 31 December 2010 at the latest, the German security authorities and organizations will then have a complete network at their disposal which is based on uniform principles throughout the country. The construction of digital radio networks is a core competence of EADS. Working together with partner companies, to date EADS has set up over 150 digital radio networks in roughly 60 countries. Among these are 30 nationwide BOS networks, 11 of which are in Europe. Each of these is tailored specifically to the requirements of the individual customers, who have been impressed by the on-time, on-cost and on-quality realization. EADS Secure Networks, which bears the responsibility for the project within EADS, belongs to the Defence and Communications Systems (DCS) Business Unit, the EADS "Systems House", and is an integrated part of the EADS Defence & Security Systems (DS) Division. With revenues of about € 5.6 billion in 2005 and roughly 23,000 employees across nine nations, the EADS Defence & Security Systems Division (DS) forms the defence and security pillar within EADS. As a Large Systems Integrator, DS offers integrated system solutions to support armed forces and ensure global security. Here, the activities of DS range from integrated (manned and unmanned) mission systems and the associated training systems through to missile and command and control systems for all organizations with security-related tasks as well as secure communications solutions, defence electronics, sensors and avionics with the associated services. DS is a supplier of complete systems for solutions in the area of global security. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2005, EADS generated revenues of € 34.2 billion and employed a workforce of about 113,000.