Talios passes its baptism of fire
French optronic targeting pod makes its operational debut in strikes against ISIS.
The Talios laser designator targeting pod from Thales was used in an operational strike mission for the first time by the French Air and Space Force on 22-23 January.
Flying missions under Operation Chammal, two twin-seat Rafale B multi-role aircraft hit Islamic State positions near the Iraqi-Syrian border, the French MoD announced on 26 January.
Chammal is the French component of the multi-national Operation Inherent Resolve against ISIS.
Derived from the Damocles pod, the multi-functional Talios includes laser ammunition guidance and long-range damage assessment functions, as well as target reconnaissance capabilities by day and at night.
As a result, the MoD claimed, Talios can not only detect and identify fixed or mobile targets on the ground and in flight ‘but also, as in the present case, ensure weapon fire with great precision’.
Talios passed qualification tests with French defence procurement agency DGA in November 2018. At the time, Thales noted that the SmartFleet fleet management and predictive maintenance solution was also qualified.
The optronic targeting pod is one of the major components of the Rafale F3R and F4 for the French Air and Space Force and French Navy.
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