Thales has officially announced a next-generation Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) as part of its TopAxyz line, incorporating Micro-ElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) technology. This advanced IMU is engineered to deliver highly accurate navigation in GPS-denied environments while improving resilience, reducing size and weight, and lowering power consumption.
Leveraging over five decades of experience in inertial navigation, Thales has integrated a three-axis Ring Laser Gyroscope (RLG) with three digital MEMS accelerometers into a single compact unit. Compared to earlier models, the new IMU is 20% smaller, 10% lighter, and more energy-efficient. It is suitable for a broad range of applications, including commercial and military aircraft, UAVs, helicopters, naval platforms, land vehicles, weapon systems, and launchers.
The legacy TopAxyz IMU has logged over 35 million flight hours in commercial aviation, demonstrating strong reliability and precision under harsh conditions—such as intense acceleration, vibration, electromagnetic interference, and high-speed environments.
In response to growing global threats like GPS jamming and spoofing, this IMU provides a dependable navigation solution. Thales is scaling up industrial production at its facilities in Valence and Châtellerault, France. First deliveries are expected in the second half of 2026.
Florent Chauvancy, VP of Flight Avionics at Thales, called the integration of MEMS a “technological and industrial breakthrough” that opens a new chapter in Thales’ history of high-performance inertial navigation systems.