SES, Airbus demo sat-link for French Navy
April 25, 2023
By Chris Forrester
SES and Airbus have linked for a sea trial of data links for the French Navy, using France’s giant aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, for the test.
Airbus joined the DIRISI (the Joint Directorate of Infrastructure Networks and Information), the DGA (Direction générale de l’armement) test unit, the DGA’s Naval Technology unit and the French Navy for a new sea trial, responding to the French Navy’s need for very high-speed, low-latency satellite communications, in order to cope with ever-increasing data exchanges.
During a two-week pilot landing qualification training period, the companies provided guaranteed carrier-grade high-performance connectivity via SES’s O3b MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) link, allowing the Charles de Gaulle crew to access new services for the first time while on a mission out at sea.
“The results are in line with expectations for throughput, but above all, due to the low latency offered by the MEO link, the aircraft carrier has accessed new services for the first time, to the great satisfaction of the crew,” said a joint statement.
Airbus says it will continue to support seafarers in the path to broadband by proposing a sustainability of this experiment, to make access to high speeds and low latencies sustainable, allowing the fleet to meet the challenges ahead.
The Airbus team, which embarked on board the ship for a week, were able to have the exceptional experience of living at the particular rhythm of this real floating city that is the aircraft carrier.