Our Full Life-Cycle Support program provides reliable, supportable, and maintainable products for long-term programs lasting as many as 20 years from initial deployment. Advanced configuration management techniques, short technological design insertion cycles, and long-term repair capabilities reduce the risk of obsolescence and the overall cost of the program.

Full life-cycle support starts at the design phase for all Thales products. As part of our ongoing commitment to the COTS concept, Thales Computers strives to maximize the interchangeability of our products by keeping the form, fit and function as forward- and backward-compatible as possible. This, coupled with our commitment to long-term support, allows us to forge strategic, lasting partnerships with our customers, guaranteeing support over the entire life of a program.

Standard Product Life Cycle

All Thales Computers products are designed, manufactured, and delivered with long-term support built in. Our Standard Product Life-Cycle Support program is divided into three phases:

Phase 1 ensures that our COTS products are fully supported with no restrictions on quantity, technical support, or repair for a minimum of 3 years after initial production. Since the end of Phase 1 is dynamic depending on market forces and technological advancements, Phase 1 of our Standard Product Life-Cycle Program typically exceeds the guaranteed 3-year minimum, averaging 5 years.

Phase 2 is our commitment to manufacture and support our COTS products for an additional 5 years after the end of Phase 1. Phase 2 extends the life cycle of our products for a minimum of 8 years and an average of 10 years from initial production. There may be some restrictions on product availability during Phase 2 depending on the accuracy of program quantity forecasts. All Thales Computers products in Phase 2 are fully supported and repairable.

Phase 3 extends the life of our products for an additional 5 years beyond Phase 2. Any product in Phase 3 can be repaired; however, products in Phase 3 of their life cycle are generally not available for manufacture.

Customers are notified upon request 6 months in advance of any Standard Life-Cycle Support program phase change for the Thales Computers products used in their program.

The three phases of our Standard Product Life-Cycle Support program can be configured to provide a Full Life-Cycle Support program customized for your program needs. This ensures that the development-to-deployment transition and the costs of maintenance, operation, and support over the life of your program are kept to a minimum.

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Technology Transition (Pre-planned Insertion (P3I))

We offer a long-range upgrade plan that allows for short design insertion cycles of successive refinements or successive point-technology insertions, whichever best suits your program needs. Notification of component changes relative to program hardware and software can be provided as they are proposed or at selected intervals. Detailed product roadmaps showing the evolutionary plans beyond the current Thales Computer’s products used in the program are available (subject to a Nondisclosure Agreement). These roadmaps identify how future products will maintain backward compatibility with the hardware and software currently used in your program. Our Update Service ensures that all major releases of software are available so program engineers may operate from the most current release.

Long-Term Production Support

Thales Computers can also be contracted to maintain a specific hardware and software configuration in production for as long as necessary under a Long-Term Production Support Agreement. Using our sophisticated configuration control procedures, components that are declared EOL by their manufacturers will be automatically purchased and stocked in a customer-specified location if desired, in the quantities required. Detailed proactive quarterly reports concerning the status of components both held in reserve and under review are available. These are particularly helpful in proactively managing possible component shortages before they become a problem.

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Obsolescence

Product life-cycle support is a key issue for Thales Computers and is incorporated into every phase of our product life cycle. We benefit from a very close relationship with all of our key suppliers. On the integrated circuit level, Thales Computers oversees the design and fabrication of our key components, thereby guaranteeing their availability for years to come.

Additionally, our component engineers are continuously monitoring the worldwide semiconductor market for notification that the manufacture of components in our inventory is being discontinued. Upon discovery of a pending temporary shortage or permanent lack of availability for any component, we will verify that previously validated alternate components are still available. In the event that a component will no longer be available and there is no available replacement, Thales Computers will provide an End of Life (EOL) notification and offer existing customers ample time to make arrangements for future program requirements.

Repair Program with Extended Warranty Option

In the unlikely event that one of your Thales Computers products requires repair, we offer a standard one-year warranty on all parts. Under this warranty, all defective parts are repaired or exchanged at our factory at no charge. Under Our Extended Warranty Program, repair service can be extended for up to 5 years.

Repair turn-around time options are available for programs where the risk of out-of-service assets must be managed. Depending on the length of the turn-around time required, Thales Computers can arrange to accommodate any need by offering diverse service options, from guaranteeing priority in the repair queue to the stocking of critical assets at a forward supply point.

Thales Computers can also provide a complete repair cycle history for all of our products starting at delivery with an acceptance test report, customized for your particular application and running through the entire life cycle of the asset.

Our Full Life-Cycle Support program allows program managers to mitigate the risk of obsolescence, whether from technological advances or market forces, by putting proactively managed obsolescence management at their disposal.

If you have a requirement or concern, please contact Thales Computers. It is likely that we can make arrangements to accommodate your special needs. Our experience providing COTS solutions over the years has taught us that a strong commitment to life-cycle support is essential to the success of a program.

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