Thales Underwater Systems or TUS (formerly Thomson Sintra ASM, Thomson CSF DASM and then Thomson Marconi Sonar) is a subsidiary of the French defense electronics specialist Thales Group. It was created in 2001 and belongs to its naval division. It specializes in the development and manufacturing of sonar systems for submarines, surface warships and aircraft, as well as communications masts and systems for submarines. Its headquarters are located in Sophia Antipolis, France. Thales Underwater Systems is made up of three branches: TUS SAS in France with sites at Brest and Aubagne (PONS); TUS Ltd in the United Kingdom with sites at Cheadle Heath and Templecombe; and finally TUS Pty in Australia. It nonetheless operates as a single company. The company had annual sales of €400 million in 2006 and employed around 2,100 people. Background In 1996, Thomson Marconi Sonar was formed by the merger of the sonar systems businesses of French defence electronics specialist Thomson-CSF and British company GEC-Marconi after the payment of a balance by the latter. It was 50.1% owned by Thomson-CSF and 49.9% by GEC-Marconi. Denis Ranque was appointed as CEO of the joint venture. The new company would head 3 operational entities: The French entity, Thomson Sintra, brought in by Thomson-CSF, was the European leader in defence-related sonar systems and the world's second after Lockheed Martin Loral, with annual sales of 1.5 billion francs, split between submarine sonars (35%), anti-submarine warfare systems (27%), mine warfare (15%) and airborne sonars (18%). The British entity was made up of GEC-Marconi's sonar division, which had annual sales of 90 million pounds (700 million francs) as well as a company already co-owned by it and Thomson-CSF called Ferranti Thomson Sonar Systems (with about 400 million francs in sales). A third entity in Australia, called TMS Pty, was composed of the two groups' establishments operating in the sector. With the merger of GEC's defence business Marconi Electronic Systems and British Aerospace in 1999, the resulting BAE Systems acquired Marconi's 49.9% share in TMS. BAE, through an options agreement, forced Thomson-CSF (now called Thales) to purchase its stake in 2001. The company therefore became entirely owned by Thales and was renamed Thales Underwater Systems. TUS SAS (France) Sophia Antipolis Thales Underwater Systems is headquartered in Sophia Antipolis, southern France. It was also, alongside Brest, one of Thomson Sintra's main sites. This continues to be the case with TUS SAS. Brest Brest has