Safran has reported that its Patroller drone has proved its capability to meet the requirements of maritime surveillance of navies during the final demonstration as part of the OCEAN2020 project.
The OCEAN2020 project is funded by the European Commission under the scope of the preparatory defense research action contract of European Defense Agency.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
At the end of August, naval exercises were held in the Baltic Sea, bringing together 18 partners, including five navies, for the final demonstration in OCEAN2020.
The demonstration was intended to show the combined use of drones operating in air, surface, and underwater environments. This would enable command centres to gain a better understanding of the tactical situation.
The Patroller demonstrated its interoperability during the event.
The drone displayed its capability of transmitting data in real time from its sensors to the tactical operations centre located at the Swedish army test centre in Ravlunda as well as to the Maritime Operations Center (MOC) control facility at European Defense Agency in Brussels.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataBuilt by Safran Electronics & Defense in France, the drone comes with a modular architecture that enables it to carry a multi-sensor intelligence payload and makes it adaptable for all kinds of missions.
Safran Electronics & Defense equipped the Patroller with the Osprey multimode radar drawn from Leonardo as well as its own Euroflir 410 optronic (electro-optical) system, for the demonstration.
Deployed from Kristianstad airport in the southern part of Sweden, the drone took part in the two naval scenarios held under the OCEAN2020 demonstration.
The first naval scenario focused on underwater operations, while the second concerned surface exercises involving many ships in various engagement stages.
Due to its radar, the Patroller was able to detect as well as track, at long range, high-speed combat ships, and then identify these ships employing its optronic sensors.
It also offered high-resolution observation of several actions, including the scenarios of convoy attacks and the boarding of a suspect ship by the special forces of Lithuania.
