The Chinese air carrier China Southern Airlines has selected the European group Thales, for the supply of avionics systems that will equip its new fleet made up of 96 A-320neo. The agreement is actually the result of a solid partnership that has lasted since 2009, but which testifies to the cooperation in the field of civil aviation between France and China, as well as the latter's dependence on foreign technologies. 

"China and France agree to carry forward bilateral cooperation in civil aviation, Thales will maintain the momentum to fully support the development of China's high-quality civil aviation and energy civil aviation ambition", explains Thierry Weulersse, managing director of Thales for China and Mongolia. 

The agreement provides for the supply of avionics systems such as the Flight Management System (Fms), the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT), finally the Low Range Radio Altimeter (Lrra) whose reliability Thales has improved, providing it with a high level against 5G signal interference. The systems will be delivered alongside the aircraft starting in Q2 2024 and will continue through 2027.