Patroller to play key role in OCEAN2020
Safran’s Patroller UAS will play a central role in the OCEAN2020 project being led by Leonardo.
The European Defence Fund programme aims to develop a technology demonstrator that will validate the concept of deploying a complete array of air, surface and underwater unmanned systems for surveillance in the maritime environment.
As part of the demonstration phase, Safran will deploy a maritime surveillance version of its Patroller UAS. The fixed-wing, long-endurance UAS will be outfitted with a new mission system, including a maritime surveillance radar, an automatic identification system for ships and Safran’s Euroflir 410 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 combat systems on a number of vessels and operations centres.
Safran will further develop autonomous mission functionality for naval UAS. An onboard data processing function will enable the Patroller to detect and automatically track suspect ships in its search zone, while also consolidating key data, including speed, trajectory, size, registration numbers and other visual proofs, to facilitate the job of operators.
Thierry Dupoux, chief innovation officer at Safran Electronics and 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 defence research and development programme.’
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