CASSIDIAN delivers 3rd phase of RDTM project as Toulon military base goes into operation

May 31, 2011 defpro.com

The RDTM (Réseaux de Desserte Terre et Marine) project was awarded to Cassidian by the DGA on 31 December 2009 and is part of the transformation process to upgrade the networks operated by DIRISI (Direction Interarmées des Réseaux d’Infrastructure et des Systèmes d’Information de la défense).

The objective of the RDTM project is to harmonise the voice systems currently in place at the French land army bases (MTGT system) and at the French naval bases (RVDM system), to create a single system in accordance with the new structure of DIRISI, the operator of the RDTM system. A further objective of this measure is to reduce network maintenance costs. RDTM makes it possible to centralise the control and monitoring of the systems and networks at the new control centres (Centres de Mise en Œuvre – CMOs) and of the local maintenance facilities in France. The unification of the telecommunication networks at all French army and navy bases covers a total of 180,000 users at nearly 800 locations.

This third phase of the RDTM project, which is one of the most difficult to accomplish, covers the commissioning of the telecommunication network at the military base in Toulon. It affects 23,000 users distributed across a network with 35 sites and many different operational units. A team of around 20 people worked for 14 months to deploy the system in order to meet the delivery deadlines agreed in the contract. This upgrade is also an opportunity to harmonise the entire telephone numbering system.

The first phase of the project, which covered the entry into operational service of the two control centres (CMOs) in Rennes and Toulon, took place according to schedule and was delivered on 1 December 2010. The second phase of the project, delivered two months early, covered the entry into service of the telecommunication network at the Cherbourg military base, linking 30 sites for nearly 6000 users.

The next major phases of the project will involve updating the software at the land army bases (MTGT) and at the naval bases in Lorient and Paris, and the operational commissioning of the telecommunication networks at French overseas military bases. The military bases affected at the end of February 2012 are those in French Polynesia followed by the military bases in Guadeloupe and Martinique at the end of March 2012, in Réunion and Mayotte at the end of May 2012, and French Guyana at the end of June 2012.

Finally, within the scope of the contract and in its role as prime contractor for complex projects, Cassidian will maintain the RDTM network to ensure that it remains fully operational and secure until 2015.