Globally there are over 500 new maritime construction programmes with a total of more than 3,800 new surface vessels and submarines. There is heightened activity all over and one platform that offers excellent opportunity to interact, network and exchange ideas, besides firming up business, is one of the topmost events – Euronaval.

Euronaval held every alternate year, offers unique networking opportunity for industry involved in naval defence, maritime safety and security, shipbuilding and manufacture of systems and equipment. Specialists, policy makers and users all over the world visit Euronaval held in Paris to be exposed to current and future trends, and interact with each other. It is an ideal platform for the companies to show their products to the decision makers of global maritime nations.

Euronaval 2014, held from October 27-31 in Paris, has had a good show, considering that there has been a significant rise in the official delegations. Patrick Boissier, Euronaval & Gican President, said with 352 exhibitors from 28 countries, it’s bigger than in 2012. And with 55 per cent of the exhibitors from outside France, it has reaffirmed its international appeal. This year has been special for Australia and India who had special pavilions, besides a number of new exhibiting nations like Turkey, Belgium, Korea and United Arab Emirates.

The programme also included conferences on important subjects like “Development of Types of Sea Conflicts between Today and 2025”; “The Contribution of International Cooperation for Maintaining a Powerful Industrial Tool” and “Reindustrialisation and Support of Medium-sized Companies”. Patrick Boissier said that there is a growing awareness worldwide that the future will play out at sea. To be part of it, countries will need to exploit the oceans and secure their territorial waters and EEZs to protect their sovereign interests.

Asia and Middle East driving demand

On demand for ships, he said it varies from region to region. The US market – the biggest of all – remains closed to outsiders. China, another growing market, is also closed. In Europe, defence budgets are, regrettably, shrinking so demand is weak. Europe used to account for a third of worldwide demand, but now only a quarter. Economic growth in Asia and the Middle East is driving demand in those regions and increasing the importance attached to maritime matters. Some navies that used to focus on coastal waters are moving into blue water operations and some are investing in submarines. Brazil and other South American countries are expanding their navies.

Exhibitors and their Products – An Overview

Rafael’s range of products
Spotlite-M: Rafael highlighted the Spotlite-M, an advanced electro-optic systems for weapon fire sources Detection location classification and tracking applications. The system incorporates state-of-the-art fully operational day and night passive sensors for multiple fire sources threats detection.

Typhoon: Rafael displayed the Typhoon MLS-ER Naval Missile System. The system includes Spike-ER missiles, launchers, an electro-optical director and a fire control system. Rafael also presented the C-GEM, a new shipborne off-board active Decoy, which defeats modern radars and missiles. It can be packed into standard size chaff rockets. The system includes low-power technique generator and high ERP transmitter arrays which generate effective jamming countermeasures.

C-Dome: Rafael presented for the first time the C-Dome Naval Point Defense System. The Sea Spotter, an advanced Naval IRST system that will enable a naval vessel to automatically locate and pinpoint threats and targets located around it without being exposed to enemy systems, was also at the show.

Raytheon presents Excalibur N5

Excalibur N5: Raytheon showcased for the first time the naval version of its combat proven Excalibur precision-guided projectile: The Excalibur N5. The N5 retains all the capabilities of the land version, has been adapted to be fired from a 5-inch (127mm) naval gun with a range of 50 km with an average miss distance of 2 m.

Phalanx Close-in Weapon Systems (CIWS): Raytheon announced the signing of a multi-year bulk buy contract totalling over $200 million to provide Phalanx CIWS upgrade kits, support equipment and hardware spares to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force). The CIWS is an integral element of Japan’s Ship Self-Defense Programme.

TALON: Raytheon and L-3 demonstrated a second successful test of the TALON Rocket Remote Weapon System (TALON RRWS), an innovative and cost-effective defence solution for small vessel protection.

Thales range of products and solutions

Compact FLASH dipping sonar system: Thales announced its first Compact FLASH dipping sonar system has passed its factory acceptance test, the first test for this new variant of the highly successful FLASH family of dipping sonars.

I-MAST 500: In an effort to combine its different existing products, Thales proposes its new integrated mast I-MAST 500. I-Mast 500 integrates a I-Mast 400, already installed on Dutch OPV Holland class, and an Active Phased Array Radar (APAR). Thales I-Mast 500 offers all the necessary capacities needed by modern ships.

SearchMaster: is a multi-role surveillance radar with the ability to meet all the surveillance requirements of five mission types: anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, maritime surveillance, ground surveillance and tactical air support.

Sea Fire 500: This is a new multifunction naval radar with a fully solid-state four panel phased-array antenna, designed for large surface combatants.

SeeMapper: SeeMapper is a turnkey system designed to protect shipping lanes, port access channels, naval bases and privately operated underwater installations. The system provides continuous, high-resolution mapping of the sea-bed using a towed synthetic aperture sonar deployed by a service vessel.

Thales BlueWatcher: Thales announced a new range of compact sonars for surface combatants and patrol vessels displacing 300 tonnes or more. Easy to install and operate, the new products include a hull-mounted sonar, the Thales BlueWatcher, and an associated towed array sonar, the Captas-1.

Schiebel’s UAS

Austrian company Schiebel presented an upgraded variant of its well-known Camcopter S-100 unmanned aerial system (UAS). During the show Schiebel chose to integrate the Selex ES SAGE advanced digital electronic support measures system on its drone.

DCNS capabilities

Unmanned Underwater Vehicle D19: Especially for Navy Recognition, DCNS presented its new unmanned underwater Vehicle D19. This new vehicle is developed to accomplish a wide range of missions, including ISR, electronic warfare, etc.

Major innovations: DCNS unveiled major innovations in three key areas – improved submerged endurance, enhanced surface intelligence gathering, and deployment of unmanned underwater vehicles – to improve the performance and safety of conventional-propulsion submarines.

SMX Ocean: DCNS also unveiled the SMX Ocean conventionally powered attack submarine which draws extensively on the design of a state-of-the-art nuclear-powered submarine, with a number of key innovations that give this diesel-electric adaptation truly outstanding performance.

Insitu

Insitu announced the ScanEagle 2, the next generation of its revolutionary ScanEagle platform. Leveraging lessons learned from more than 8,00,000 operational hours, ScanEagle 2 provides increased payload power and expanded payload options, a more robust navigation system, better image quality due to a fully digital video system and a state-of-the-art, purpose-built propulsion system.

Sagem (Safran) signs contract with MBDA

Simbad RC: Sagem announced that it has signed a contract with MBDA to supply several dozen Matis SP thermal imagers for Simbad RC (remote control) surface-to-air launcher stations to be delivered to an unidentified navy.

ANL/Sea Venom: It has also signed a contract with MBDA to develop and produce the infrared seeker for the upcoming light antiship missile, the ANL/Sea Venom, a joint French-British programme launched within the scope of the Lancaster House treaty signed in November 2010.

BlueNaute: Sagem (Safran) announced that it has delivered the 200th BlueNaute precision attitude and heading reference systems for civilian maritime applications.

Airbus DS cooperation agreement

OMS 110 and 200: Airbus Defence & Space presented its optics and optronics systems for naval applications for submarines systems as well as surface system. The twin optronic mast solution, with OMS 110 and OMS 200, is for submarine systems and the MEOS II optronic unit for surface systems.

Airbus Defence & Space and DCNS signed a cooperation agreement to develop a ship-based helicopter unmanned aerial system capability. This technological partnership will help to speed up the market release of the TANAN vertical take-off and landing tactical helicopter UAS.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)

IAI has expanded its best-selling maritime surveillance radar family, having displayed models of the two new additions i.e. ELM-2022ES radar and the ELM-2022ML lightweight radar.

Lockheed Martin

The resurgence of piracy on the high seas, the increasing difficulty in protecting sovereign shorelines and defence budget restrains demand an advanced, yet affordable, maritime security solution. Countries now need ships designed to counter multiple threats arising in the open ocean to coastal waters. Lockheed Martin’s offers fast, survivable and affordable international surface combatant designs – the multi-mission combat ship and surface combat ship – can meet the needs and counter the threats, quickly and affordably.

Oto Melara

Oto Melara unveiled its new multi-barrel cannon HITROLE – 20mm RWS, which is a modern, fully stabilised, electrically operated and remotely controlled naval weapon system, which can provide an effective, short range self-defence for small boats as well as the secondary armament for any class of ship.

MBDA

MBDA announced that the SIMBAD-RC ship self-defence system has now entered the qualification phase, first deliveries of which will occur in 2015. The SIMBAD-RC is the “remote controlled” variant of the SIMBAD twin launcher system equipped with two ready-to-fire Mistral missiles, already in service with the French Navy and with several navies around the world.

MTU

Under the brand MTU, Rolls-Royce presented propulsion and system solutions for the naval defence and marine sectors with focus on the new diesel gensets based on Series 1600 and Series 4000, advanced developments on the proven Series 1163 main propulsion unit and the Callosum automation system. The MTU brand is part of Rolls-Royce Power Systems within the Land & Sea division of Rolls-Royce.

Fincantieri PPA

Fincantieri PPA (Pattugliatore Polivalente D’Altura), offshore polyvalent patrol, was displayed for the first time at Euronaval 14. The vessel can perform a wide range of offshore patrolling missions due to its modular sections conception. PPA have been chosen by Italian Navy for the replacement programme of Italian corvettes, patrol vessels and Durand de la Penne destroyers.

Saab

Saab exhibited for the first time a large range of naval remotely operated systems, such as the Double Eagle MkIII propelled variable depth sonar (PVDS) MkIII.

Nexter

Nexter exported a number of NARWHAL 20A remote weapon stations (RWS with 20 x 102 ammunitions) to Lebanon. A company representative also declared that the NARWHAL 20B (with 20x139 ammunitions) will be fitted on board French Navy’s Mistral class LHDs.

GE Marine

GE Marine, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of aero-derivative marine gas turbines, had a complete range of gas turbines from 6,000 to 57,300 shaft horsepower. GE gas turbines—the LM500, LM2500, LM2500+, LM2500+G4, and LM6000