OCEAN2020 demonstration kicks off

The first OCEAN2020 demonstration is set to commence today, 20 November, in the Gulf of Taranto.

OCEAN2020 is a European Defence Fund pan-European military research project that aims to evaluate how RPAS can help respond to the challenges of maritime surveillance.

The two day demonstration will bring together six naval units, nine RPAS, five satellites, two ground communications networks, four national Maritime Operation Centres (MOCs) and a prototype command centre (EU MOC) located in Brussels.

The demonstration will be coordinated at sea by the Italian Navy, which is providing ships and helicopters for the project and has helped develop the operational scenarios for the demonstrations. These will include the interdiction of a hostile vessel and the interception of an enemy mine-laying ship during an amphibious operation.

Throughout the exercise, the overarching objective will be to demonstrate how RPAS can support surveillance and interdiction operations at sea, providing an integrated picture of the situation for operators. The demonstration will also provide an opportunity to assess integration and interoperability capabilities at a European level as well as in the context of joint operations with NATO.

Leonardo is providing a number of capabilities for the exercise, including being responsible for the surveillance, defence and communication systems on board the Italian Navy’s Virginio Fasan and Federico Martinengo frigates, the latter which also hosts an SH-90A helicopter.

The company will also provide maritime domain awareness solutions at the Italian Navy Operations Center, headquarter of the Naval Squad Command, and will fly its SW-4 Solo and AWHero UAS during the demo. It will also provide advanced electronic scanning radar sensors on unmanned aircraft; telecommunications services of Athena Fidus developed by Telespazio and earth observation services provided through E-Geos Seonse platform using the capabilities of Cosmo-SkyMed satellites.

Leonardo has also participated in the creation of the prototype European maritime operations centre in Brussels, which will host operations during the exercise.