The thesis of a student at Rennes university undertaken jointly with Thales has received one of the three DGA Thesis Prizes for 2011

The work of Sébastien Palud was singled out for its contribution to combating the threat of improvised explosive devices

18 July 2011 Thales press release

Launched by the initiative of Thales, the thesis on the design of a system for intercepting and jamming radio-controlled improvised explosive devices (IED) by Sébastien Palud, a student at the Institut d’Electronique et des Télécommunications de Rennes (IETR), has been awarded one of the three DGA Thesis Prizes for 2011.

Set up with the aim of building bridges between civilian research and military research, since 2002 the DGA Thesis Prizes have rewarded research work judged by a jury of experts for the quality of the results obtained and their level of innovation.

This thesis, undertaken since 2006 in consultation with the DGA (Direction Générale pour l'Armement, the French weapons procurement agency) and co-directed by experts from Thales and the IETR, was produced in the antenna laboratory run by Mohamed Himdi (IETR). The findings of Sébastien Palud have led to a significant step forward in the field of antenna research and for equipping vehicles with very wide-band antennas. These antennas possess a simultaneous reception and transmission function.

During the prize-giving ceremony, the DGA expressed its interest in the development of the capacity to jam radio-controlled improvised explosive devices, a major threat to the safety of the armed forces in theatre situations.

The subject of the thesis concerns an antenna jamming and interception system that is omnidirectional and very compact, and which functions over the entire V/UHF band (30 MHz-3000 MHz). This syste  makes all improvised explosive devices ineffective. The prototype produces performances that are higher or equal to those of conventional jamming antennas, while being up to ten times shorter.

“I particularly wish to thank and congratulate Sébastien Palud for the quality of his research,” said Patrice Caine, Vice President of Thales in charge of radio communications activities. “We are very proud of this award which illustrates our ability to innovate and our commitment to the protection of armed forces deployed in theatres of operation.”