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The prime has been tapped to upgrade the French Armed Forces’ telecommunications infrastructure.
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Airbus has been awarded a 10-year framework agreement, called Copernicus, for the construction and enhancement of part of the ground segment for the telecommunications satellites used by the French Armed Forces.
The French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) has placed an initial order worth more than €100 million ($152 million).
Specifically, the first order involves the development of the future satellite communications management system for the French Ministry of Defence.
The portal, ‘Pegasus’, is designed to enable the French Armed Forces to optimise use of the available capacities on military and commercial satellites, helping co-ordinate requests entered by central military staff or any unit deployed on the ground, at sea or in the air.
The Copernicus project also aims to increase the operability of Comcept, the multi-satellite communications network designed by Airbus and commissioned by the French Armed Forces in 2017.
Comcept leverages the broadband Ka-band transmission capacities of the Franco-Italian military satellite ATHENA-FINDUS, in addition to the Ku- and C-band capacities of commercial satellites.
“We are building the future broadband and multi-satellite ground segment for France’s Armed Forces,” Dominique Maudet, head of French defence sales at Airbus Defence and Space, said.
“It will be fully integrated, intelligent and dynamic, giving operators access to a decision-making tool unique to satellite communications management.”
[Related: Airbus, Thales secure joint SIGINT contract]
