Sydney, Australia, 2 May 2018 – source Thales Group

Deeper collaboration between Australia and France in advanced sonar and naval robotics technology will flow from a research agreement announced in Sydney today during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Flinders University in South Australia, ENSTA Bretagne – a leading Graduate and Post-Graduate Engineering School and Research Institute in Brest, France, and Thales will deepen and extend well established research linkages between Australia and France in order to contribute to the future submarine program in Australia.

Thales Australia CEO Chris Jenkins said the President’s official visit was an opportunity to highlight the strength of the strategic relationship between Thales and France, a relationship underpinned by linkages like the research MOU announced today. “This is all about attracting the best and brightest in both Australia and France to work on the challenges of the future submarine program, ensuring Australia gets the best capability. The MOU provides a long term framework for collaboration in naval robotics applicable to both submarine and surface ship sonars, including opportunities to share testing facilities, operate exchange programs and facilitate joint research projects. It builds on an already strong relationship between Thales and Flinders University in Australia as well as between ENSTA Bretagne and Thales in Brest, France.

Alexis Morel, Vice-President Underwater Systems at Thales, said discussions with Flinders University and ENSTA Bretagne had already identified two topics for research collaboration – one to design a demonstrator for the automatic connection of electro-optical links in a maritime environment and secondly for the development of USV test vehicles suitable to test autonomy algorithms on robotic swarms at sea. “This collaboration will build Australian capability, provide internships for both undergraduate and post-graduate Flinders University students in France and contribute to design solutions for the future submarine program.

Flinders University Vice-Chancellor Professor Colin Stirling said the University was delighted to be partnering with Thales teams based in Australia and in France. “This MOU will open up great opportunities for closer collaboration with Thales research laboratories and follows the recent announcement that Flinders University will be one of Thales Australia’s academic partners in the new Defence Co-operative Research Centre (CRC) for Trusted Autonomous Systems.”

ENSTA Bretagne Director Pascal Pinot stressed the fact that the MoU was a necessary base to start new Research projects between Flinders University, Thales and ENSTA Bretagne which would in turn reinforce the cooperation between the Defence ministries of the two countries. “The MoU was built in order to lead to tangible Research work between us in the short term particularly in the field of underwater Robotics. It builds on the strength of all three participants in the framework of the increasing bilateral defence cooperation”.

About Thales

The people we all rely on to make the world go round – they rely on Thales. Our customers come to us with big ambitions: to make life better, to keep us safer. Combining a unique diversity of expertise, talents and cultures, our architects design and deliver extraordinary high technology solutions. Solutions that make tomorrow possible, today. From the bottom of the oceans to the depth of space and cyberspace, we help our customers think smarter and act faster - mastering ever greater complexity and every decisive moment along the way. With 65,000 employees in 56 countries, Thales reported sales of €15.8 billion in 2017.

About Flinders University

With a well-earned reputation for innovative research and excellence in teaching and learning, Flinders University is a member of the Innovative Research Universities network. Globally focussed and locally engaged, Flinders has some 2,700 staff and 25,000 students, including some 4,000 international students from more than 100 countries. 90% of Flinders University’s research has been ranked at or above world standard by Excellence in Research for Australia. Research strengths include defence, engineering, molecular science and technology, and water and environment. Our high-tech innovation campus is home to the industry 4.0 Future Factory TMI Hub, and the Flinders New Venture Institute, a leader in entrepreneurship programs.

About ENSTA Bretagne

ENSTA Bretagne is a French Multidisciplinary Graduate and Post-Graduate Engineering School and Research Institute, under tutelage of the Ministry of the Armed Forces. The ENSTA Bretagne campus in Brest has nearly 1000 Students, including 110 PhD Students and 850 MSc Students. ENSTA Bretagne aims to produce Engineers capable of mastering the design of complex, industrial systems in an international environment, required by civil industries and the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA). 20% of the students are military Engineers with officer status. The excellence of ENSTA Bretagne is appreciable through its privileged links with the most innovative sectors: Maritime, Defense and technological industries with high added value (i.e. Space and Aeronautics, IT, Energy, Automotive). ENSTA Bretagne is renowned for its specialized courses in Maritime Engineering, IT, Mechanics and Project Management, such as: Naval architecture, Robotics, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, Hydrography (cat. A), Software & Cyber-security, Embedded Systems & AI, Signal Processing, Pyrotechnics, Modeling and related areas.

Jul 22, 2015 by Krishnan Haridasan for SatCom Frontier (SPX)

Bethesda MD - The use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) is rising rapidly worldwide. Long known only for their military applications, UAS are increasingly being deployed by civilian governments for use in scientific research, climate change research, and humanitarian relief operations.

As detailed in a recent article from Northern Sky Research, the number of UAS dedicated to civilian applications is expected to triple by 2023. The U.S. leads the world in civilian government use of UAS. For example, NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center operates a Northrop Grumman Global Hawk for high-altitude, long-duration Earth science missions. The Global Hawk has contributed greatly to NASA's study of climate change due to its unique ability to operate in the upper stratosphere.

NASA's Science Mission Directorate has teamed with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of Energy to use the Global Hawk for Earth observation research. Initial operational capability for Global Hawk science missions began in 2010.

A portable ground control station is functioning and has supported operations originating outside the continental United States. A permanent ground control station located at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia, was used to support the Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel multi-year study from 2012 - 2014 over the Atlantic Ocean. Future hurricane studies in partnership with NOAA are planned in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans using the Global Hawk.

As detailed in Fast Company magazine, NASA also uses a General Atomics Predator UAS christened Ikhana, to track forest fires and also to test tracking technology that will eventually allow UAS to share the skies with conventional aircraft.

The ability of UAS to autonomously fly long distances, remain aloft for extended periods of time, and carry large payloads brings a new capability to the science community. The unmanned vehicles are effective for measuring, monitoring and observing remote locations of Earth not feasible or practical with piloted aircraft, most other robotic or remotely operated aircraft, or space satellites. The use of UAS to facilitate communications to underserved regions around the world is also anticipated to be a strong growth area.

According to NSR: "The use of UAS for communication relay is well understood, and architectural studies have been conducted for integrating stratospheric UAS with LEO and GEO communication satellites for localized high quality service. Despite none of these studies leading to implementation, the announcements and investment by Internet companies such as Facebook and Google in High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) UAS for data connectivity globally has generated renewed interest in this concept."

Clearly UAS are incredibly versatile machines that deliver benefits far beyond their use in national defense. As their civilian government and commercial use continues to expand, they will improve the lives of millions of people around the globe.

27 mars 2015 DARPA

Read Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) "Sea Hunter"

James Lackey, Redstone Scientific Information Center chairman and U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center director, and board members reviewed near-term actions as well as far-term strategic plans during Board of Directors meeting held Mar. 11 at the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center.

March 20th, 2015 By Army News Service - defencetalk.com

The board of directors for the largest science and technology library in the Army met March 11 at the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center, or AMRDEC.

Redstone Scientific Information Center, or RSIC, is a unique, national asset containing a collection of specialized materials including technical reports, contractor reports, technical memorandums, informational briefs, special reports, and conference papers open to all government employees and contractors at Redstone Arsenal.

In addition to being the largest technical library, it is also the only joint Army/ NASA library.

The RSIC board of directors is composed of various Redstone organizations to include AMRDEC, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, or MSFC, Missile and Space Intelligence Center, Space and Missile Defense Command and most recently, Missile Defense Agency as an emergent funding partner.

“RSIC is extremely important to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center as a resource for technical data on a wide variety of topics ranging from rocket propulsion to space physics, from systems design to vehicle operations,” said MSFC Center Chief Technologist and board member, Dr. Andrew Keys. “Marshall is committed to working with the ‘Team Redstone’ members to ensure RSIC has a future within our community.”

RSIC Board Chair and AMDREC Director James Lackey shared insight on future development for the center.

“One of the key challenges for RSIC is making a secure transition into a more digital future. The entire definition of what a library means is fundamentally changing,” Lackey said. “Just look at how eBooks are proliferating over traditional hardback products in your very own home. Brave new world concepts of ‘knowledge management’, ‘data mining’, and ‘cloud analytics’ prevail over traditional dusty phrases of ‘card catalog’, ‘bound periodicals’, and ‘microfiche’.”

Library customers can provide information on their topics of interest and the staff will set up a profile in several databases. Customers will then receive journal articles, conference papers, and report citations by email when something new is published on their subject. This service saves researchers time and keeps them informed about the latest publications in their field.

All registered users at RSIC also have desktop accessibility to the library’s online resources, which include access to the library’s online catalog, 20 electronic databases, the electronic books and journals, RSIC’s digital collection containing electronic documents produced by AMRDEC, MSFC, Redstone Test Center, and the Comanche Project Office.

Lackey said, “RSIC must keep pace with information technologies to remain viable and relevant for today’s and tomorrow’s technical workforce. This entails a variety of activities including converting existing collections into digital format, exploring use of information technology tool sets, and social media as well as potentially expanding partnerships of RSIC beyond the arsenal gates to include local academic institutions. All of this future greatness comes with a literal cost.”

The objective of RSIC board of directors, or BoD, was to review the current operational status of the RSIC and make decisions on near-term actions as well as far-term strategic plans, including how to secure a more stable funding future.

“While the answer to this question is complex and obviously depends on a variety of factors, BoD members remain committed to support the RSIC charter going forward in the best supportive manner under our current and projected budget constrained environment,” Lackey said.

Brussels - 10 March, 2015 European Defence Agency

Brussels - 09 January, 2015 by Claude-France Arnould - Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency

19 June 2014 Laëtitia NAKACHE siliconwadi.fr

“Lever le périscope !”. Cet ordre habituellement lancé par le capitaine d’un sous-marin va peut-être devenir obsolète grâce à l’invention d’une équipe de chercheurs du TECHNION qui a créé un dispositif permettant d’observer les objets à la surface de l’eau sans avoir besoin de  périscope au dessus des vagues.

Dénommé le Stella Maris (STELLAR MARINE REFRACTIVE IMAGING SENSOR), cette innovation est inspirée de la technologie utilisée par les astronautes, pour rétablir les flous et déformations dont sont responsables les couches de l’atmosphère lors de l’observation des étoiles.

Le dispositif est complexe. “Stella Maris est une nouvelle approche car il mesure passivement l’eau et les vagues par l’imagerie du soleil réfractée” explique le Professeur Yoav Y. SCHECHNER associé à cette recherche. C’est une caméra sous-marine dont le cœur du système comporte un réseau de trous au travers desquels passe la lumière et dont les rayons sont ensuite renvoyés vers le diffuseur de la caméra. Les images brutes captées sont corrigées grâce à un système informatisé de reconstruction d’images et de miroirs.

Suite de l’article

Brussels - 05 December, 2013 European Defence Agency

Claude-France Arnould, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the Greek Minister for National Defence, Dimitris Avramopoulos, opened the EDA Research & Technology (R&T) Conference 2013 in Athens, Greece. Under the motto “Critical Defence Technologies – Exploring Innovation Together” the 2-day conference aims to collect advice from decision makers and experts across the European Union on more efficient and effective R&T for Security and Defence. Conference topics, presented by high level speakers and panellists from various domains, include strategic access and security of supply in defence-critical technologies, coordination with other EU institutions such as the European Commission on “dual-use” elements, improved joint exploitation of R&T investments and the “EURIDEA” competition on innovative proposals of R&T cooperation among EDA´s participating Member States. 

In her opening address Ms Arnould highlighted the importance of R&T and EDA´s responsibility within the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), especially in the light of the upcoming EU summit in December. EDA flagship programmes such as Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) or Cyber Defence provide a clear indication of what can be achieved by improved synergies. Ms Arnould pointed out that this relies not only on shared technologies, but also on coordination among stakeholders, for example the improved use of EU funding instruments such as European Structural Funds (ESF) to boost innovation and contribute to industrial growth and creating jobs. 

More information

• News Research & Technology Conference 2013: Critical Defence Technologies – Exploring Innovation Together

• News Head of Agency Publishes Report on CSDP (15 Oct 2013)

• News European Council in December 2013 

• Factsheet Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS)

• Factsheet Cyber Defence

01 February 2012 Thales UK

In an era when Government funding is in decline, technologies are evolving at record speeds and Britain aspires to maintain its leading international role, it’s clear that the UK approach to acquisition and technology needs to be brought up to date.

We therefore welcome the clarity that the White Paper brings, and support the use of competition and ‘off the shelf’ acquisition, which is a pragmatic recognition of the approach that Thales has taken on many of its UK programmes. Critical to the delivery of this approach is the Government’s recognition of the importance of UK-based systems integration skills and key technologies that provide the battle-winning edge.

On the ground in Afghanistan, both the military and the Exchequer have benefited from Thales UK’s ability to fit ‘military off the shelf’ solutions to UK forces’ needs. Whether in Armoured Vehicles such as Mastiff or UAVs like the Hermes 450 (which has flown over 50,000 hours in support of operations in theatre) recent experience demonstrates the feasibility of combining an international supply chain with domestic integration skills to deliver battle-winning capability. What matters to the soldier on the ground is not where a piece of kit was manufactured, but whether it delivers the capability he needs.

UK Armed Forces must have unique capabilities which give them an edge in the field, on the seas, in the air and in cyberspace. The challenge going forward, however, is that the specific circumstances of each capability area vary wildly, frustrating one-size-fits-all approaches. We therefore look forward to working with Government to understand how the high level strategy laid out in this Paper will carefully be put into effect in a timely manner in each case.

The Paper also confirms the need to make special arrangements for a specific set of ‘strategic’ technologies, and the inclusion of capabilities like electronic warfare and cryptography highlights how C4ISR technologies are central to delivering ‘operational advantage’ in the 21st century.

Research and Technology underpins all of the UK’s Defence goals – responding to fast-changing threats in an agile way, improving export market share and performance, convergence with Security capabilities, and reorienting the economy towards advanced technology skills and manufacturing. Whilst the White Paper’s commitment to a consistent level of funding provides certainty, it is clear that this level will need to rise significantly above current levels if the UK is to achieve its broader goals.

Exports and strategic relationships are clearly critical in developing future capability and creating economies of scale, and Thales welcomes the commitment to Anglo-French collaboration as a key contributor in realising the UK’s ambitions at a time of constrained budgets.

Similarly, Government’s emphasis on the use of service-based solutions is an effective and pragmatic response to the decline in military headcount. This recognises the benefits generated through Contractor Support to Operations in recent years, and looks forward to the emerging Whole Force Concept where reservists and industry play greater roles supporting the military force.

Victor Chavez
Chief Executive
Thales UK