Thales has started delivering the Syracuse IV satellite communication (SatCom) naval/ground stations to the French Navy as part of the ongoing Syracuse IV programme.
The delivery commencement further signifies that the Syracuse IV programme has now entered its deployment phase, in terms of naval stations.
Led by the French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA), the programme aims to modernise and boost the French Navy’s military SatCom capabilities.
The new Syracuse IV stations have been designed to gradually replace the assets deployed under Syracuse III.
The modernisation effort will improve the performance of the ground segment across all the maritime command centres and theatres of operation for the French Armed Forces.
It will further increase the secure communication capabilities of surface vessels, submarines, fighting vehicles on the move as well as different aircraft.
The initial contract for the delivery of naval/ground stations for the Syracuse IV programme was awarded to Thales in 2019, followed by the second increment of the ground segment in February 2021.
The company is responsible for supplying all the SatCom stations for the French naval forces.
The first ship to be equipped with the new Syracuse IV SatCom station is the FREMM European multi-mission frigate Lorraine. This milestone was completed in November last year.
According to the company, among the three domains, air, water and ground, naval environment is the first to receive the upgraded SatCom stations under the Syracuse IV programme.
The new stations will allow French forces to communicate and exchange data in a more secure and protected SatCoMm network.
Thales’s Syracuse IV stations offer dual-band X and Ka capability that can provide protection against various communication threats, including jamming, cyber-attacks and interference, while ensuring end-to-end connectivity in support of multi-domain operations.
