February 9, 2018 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
Boulogne-Billancourt, February 7, 2018
Safran is one of the main participants in the OCEAN2020 consortium, which won a major contract as part of the European Commission's 2017 Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) initiative.
This European Commission's OCEAN2020 project, with 35 million euros in funding, aims to develop a technology demonstrator that will validate the concept of deploying a complete array of drone systems (air, surface and submarine) for surveillance in a maritime environment.
The Leonardo-led OCEAN2020 consortium won this contract by uniting companies of all sizes, along with academic institutions and government representatives from 15 European Union countries. The winning team will conduct two demonstrations involving the operation of new surveillance systems and integrated information processing systems, deployed in several European naval exercises, first in the Mediterranean in 2019 then in the Baltic Sea in 2020.
During these naval operations, Safran will deploy a maritime surveillance version of its Patroller drone. The only fixed-wing, long-endurance drone taking part in these demonstrations, the Patroller will also be outfitted with a new mission system, including a maritime surveillance radar, an automatic identification system (AIS) for ships and Safran's EuroflirTM410 optronic (electro-optical) pod, already used on the army version of the Patroller. The data collected by this multi-sensor suite will be transmitted to the combat systems on several warships, as well as to operations centers.
Safran will contribute to the innovative nature of the OCEAN2020 project by developing an autonomous mission function for naval drones. An onboard data processing function will enable the Patroller drone to detect and automatically track suspect ships in its search zone, while also consolidating key data (speed, trajectory, size, registration numbers, other visual proofs, etc.) to facilitate the job of operators.
These new functionalities will offer a decisive advantage in ensuring the success of drone surveillance operations by navies and government agencies.
Thierry Dupoux, chief innovation officer at Safran Electronics & Defense, said, "We are very proud to be advancing our road map for drone mission systems in maritime surveillance applications. We're very fortunate to be able to apply our skills to help develop this large-scale European defense R&D program."
PADR is a three-year program organized by the European Commission to test the EU's defense Research & Technology (R&T) funding mechanisms, via several targeted projects. It heralds the launch of a framework program to support defense research starting in 2021.
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By Matthew Cox Army robotics officials at Fort Benning, Georgia are trying to give individual soldiers the capability to control swarms of air and ground robotic systems for missions that often require large numbers of troops to accomplish. U.S. ground forces have used small ground robots and unmanned aerial systems for years, but only on a small scale, said Don Sando, director Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate at Benning. "To really get a large benefit from robotic systems, we have to break the one-soldier, one-robot link, because right now, you generally need one operator for one robotic system and that is effective and interesting, but when I can have dozens of robotic systems controlled by one soldier, now I have a significant advantage," Sando told a group of defense reporters today on a conference call. A single soldier could conduct reconnaissance over "large areas with fewer soldiers and many dozens of robotic systems," Sando said. "That starts to matter especially in conditions such as dense urban environment," Sando said. "The problem with urban environments is they consume soldiers ... limited lines of sight, tunnels, buildings -- all the things that just take manpower to overcome and control. "If we can expand that with robotic systems, both air and ground, then that has significant impact." The concept could be developed to enhance communications battlefields when networks are hampered by enemy activity as well as natural obstacles. "If our communications infrastructure is going to be contested, as we know it will, then how can I regenerate quickly and effectively in a given area with robotic systems, both air and ground, to create that network?" Sando said. CDID officials are developing a common controller that can control air and ground robots regardless of the model. "We are very close on that; we did some assessment last year. We proved the feasibility of about three different versions of controllers that can effectively control air and ground robotic systems," Sando said. "The advantage to that is a soldier only has to learn one system as opposed to every robot has its own unique controller." The goal is to make a decision on a common controller by late fiscal 2019, Sando said. But the problem is more than just choosing the right controller. "How do you train a soldier, and how do you train leaders to do that? Sando said. "It's one thing to have two hands on your rifle -- one soldier, one system. It's one thing to be a small unit leader, to have a few subordinate leaders under your control -- it's something else to have dozens of under your control." Organizations continue to come to Benning to "practice and develop algorithms to employ swarming unmanned aerial systems," Sando said. "The next thing beyond that is OK, how do I swarm ground robotic systems? How can I do that?" he said. "That is the thing we are least developed on and that's the thing we want to start trying to emphasize. "We are going to continue to develop that and test that and I think that poses the next really large return on investment as we expand robotic systems." https://www.military.com/defensetech/2018/06/27/army-individual-soldiers-will-one-day-control-swarms-robots.html