European Union peacekeepers in the Central African Republic are receiving a new secure communications and information capability from Thales.

The company said that under a second phase of a project, it is equipping EUFOR troops in Bangui, the country's capital, with the European command headquarters in Larissa, Greece, via a satellite communications link that is supplied and operated by Thales.

Earlier, the company provided secure communication services between chiefs of staff and in-theater units helping to dampen civil unrest.

"This success with EUFOR in the Central African Republic is a further endorsement of the operational value of our turnkey network operations services and our ability to guarantee extremely high levels of reliability and availability for users," said Gerard Herby, services director of Thales's secure communications and information systems activities.

Thales said its communications system with UFOR in the Central African Republic utilizes satcom and point-to-point radio links, fire-optic links, Internet and video on demand.

"Thales's experience as a supplier of information system and secure communication services proved decisive in the contract award," Thales said. "Since 2006, Thales has been delivering secure voice and data communication services for NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan."