Thales and Compagnie Nationale de Navigation Deliver Dupuy de Lôme to Procurement Agency
05 January 2006
Thales and Compagnie Nationale de Navigation (CNN) officially handed over the Dupuy de Lôme intelligence vessel to their customer, the French defence procurement agency (DGA), on 15 December. The French Navy took possession of the ship the same day.
“With its ability to intercept strategic satellite communications, this vessel will help us to stay a step ahead in the fight against terrorism,” said Minister for Defence Michèle Alliot-Marie on 28 October.
The Dupuy de Lôme owes its unique capability to a series of innovations, making it the only vessel of its kind in the world:
- It was designed from the outset as a signals intelligence vessel, the first project of its kind for the French Navy. The performance of the ship itself is thus directly linked to the performance of its operational intelligence systems.
- Its key capabilities are interception, eavesdropping, direction-finding and technical analysis of radio and radar signals, including the latest waveforms and the most advanced types of communications.
- It was classified by Bureau Veritas on the basis of commercial shipbuilding standards and is thus fully compliant with merchant shipping regulations.
- A high level of system automation makes it possible to optimise crew numbers: the vessel can be operated with a crew of 30.
- Living and work areas are designed for maximum crew efficiency and comfort.
The delivery also marks the beginning of the through-life support phase of the contract. This is another innovative aspect of the Minrem* programme: for the first time, the French Navy signed a five-year contract with Thales and CNN to guarantee 350 days of operational availability for the vessel.
The Minrem programme is the first contract in France awarded to Thales and CNN as prime contractors for a complete vessel. Focused exclusively on achieving total customer satisfaction, the prime contract team has successfully met the cost control and on-time delivery requirements of the programme despite a particularly tight programme schedule.
