Saab and Leonardo to begin second OCEAN2020 demonstration
OCEAN2020 is a European defence research project funded by the EU’s Preparatory Action on Defence Research.
Saab and Leonardo are set to begin the second live demonstration of the European maritime awareness programme, OCEAN2020, in the Baltic Sea.
The demonstration is expected to take place towards the end of this month. The latest exercise will be coordinated by Saab.
Open Cooperation for European mAritime awareNess (OCEAN2020) is a consortium funded by the EU Preparatory Action on Defense Research and implemented by the European Defence Agency (EDA).
The European Defence Fund’s initiative aims to boost pan-European defence.
The Leonardo-led consortium is made up of 43 partners from 15 countries, including Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Lithuania.
The demo involves open, interoperable architecture integrating data from multiple platforms that is fed into a European operations centre for increased situational awareness.
The operations centre is a prototype planned to be built in Brussels.
The Baltic Sea exercise will involve 13 uncrewed systems and four naval units, including a Swedish Support Ship, Lithuanian patrol vessel, Polish mine hunter, and a German research vessel.
A satellite and two command centres will also participate in the exercise.
The second OCEAN2020 demonstration will include a remotely piloted SW-4 SOLO helicopter fitted with Leonardo’s Osprey 30 AESA surveillance radar.
During the upcoming demo, the uncrewed systems will ‘patrol and classify threats’ by using different on-board sensors.
Saab OCEAN2020 project manager Ingrid Leijonhufvud said: “By participating in this demonstration, Saab proves it has a unique capability to connect assets in the air, on the water, and under the surface.
“This is a market segment with a lot of competition, but few have the wide competence as Saab does when it comes to the sensors, communication and management systems that can integrate so many complex systems in a flexible manner.”
The first OCEAN2020 demonstration was conducted in November 2019. It was coordinated by the Italian Navy.
