The French Navy has awarded a four-year contract to a consortium formed by Telespazio France, a subsidiary of Telespazio (a joint venture between Leonardo Finmeccanica and Thales) and Airbus Defense and Space, a division of the Airbus group, for the supply of a service satellite maritime surveillance. The Trimaran2 contract, continuation of the previous Trimaran1, will allow maritime area commanders access to a portal dedicated to surveillance services that will provide optical and radar images, as well as AIS (Automatic Identification System) data to improve the effectiveness of the Navy missions.
France has an economic exclusion zone that covers over 11 million km², the second largest in the world after that of the United States. In a geopolitical and economic crisis context such as the current one, the French Navy carries out search and rescue missions at sea to guarantee the safety of people and the environment, making use of advanced technologies.
Telespazio France and Airbus Defense and Space will use an exclusive combination of satellites for the Trimaran2 service, to complete the resources already provided by the French Navy. The contract, which covers the 2016-2020 period, will improve the effectiveness of the missions conducted by the Navy in the various oceans, opposing illegal trafficking, preventing illegal immigration, carrying out search and rescue operations at sea, identifying pollution and toxic waste and monitoring the protected sea areas.
Through a dedicated portal, each of the maritime areas assigned to the French Navy will have access user-friendly and continuous with a wide possibility of satellite acquisitions with global coverage. Regardless of the type and location of the operations in progress, the radar and optical satellite images will be interpreted by Telespazio France and Airbus Defense and Space analysts as soon as they are received and integrated with AIS data. The reports will be sent to users, again via the portal, with an indication of the types of ships detected, their position, their speed and course.
"Together with our partners from Airbus Defense and Space, we are very proud to be able to provide the French Navy with a highly reliable portfolio of naval surveillance services. After years of collaboration between the Telespazio group and EMSA (European Maritime Safety Agency), this new contract is a testament to the operational skills of our teams and the unprecedented contribution provided by satellite services for the benefit of the French Navy personnel ", he declared Jean-Marc Gardin, president and CEO of Telespazio France. "The service, developed with our partner Telespazio France is the tangible result of our many years of operational collaboration with the French Navy", said Eric Soulères, Head of Business Line Communications, Intelligence & Security for France of Airbus Defense and Space. "This contract also confirms the recent successes of Airbus Defense and Space with Australian Border Force and EMSA ((European Maritime Safety Agency), demonstrating the validity of our solutions for the institutions involved in the activities government at sea".
