Euronaval trade show spurs new business for French naval companies

PARIS — French naval companies are solidifying global market share with the procurement of navigation systems by the Egyptian and German navies as well as developments in the multinational multi-role patrol corvette program.

The opening day of the Euronaval show, organized here from Nov. 4-7, was a fruitful one for the French naval industry with the announcement of several contracts.

Safran announced that the Egyptian Navy has selected its VIGY 4 optronic sights and Argonyx inertial navigation systems to equip 10 of the country’s offshore patrol vessels to detect and track threats.

According to the company, the short-wave, infra-red technology that powers the sights allows them to be especially effective for missions in settings where visibility is poor, for instance in the dark or through fog.

The VIGY 4 can also drive small and medium-caliber weapons, a Safran press release said.

Another French industrial group to have secured an important contract is Exail, which has been selected for the modernization of the German Navy’s Brandenburg-class frigates, also referred to as F-123.

The company will provide upgrades to the vessels’ navigation capabilities by enhancing its Netans data distribution units and Marins inertial navigation systems to speed up the distribution of information and increase positioning accuracy.

“We are pleased to partner with Arche and Saab to deliver state-of-the-art technology for the Brandenburg-class frigates,” Jens Higgen, regional sales director at Exail stated in a company announcement, referring to the other contractors on the frigate program.

On the sidelines of the exhibition, Naval Group also signed an Initial Consortium Agreement with Spanish and Italian shipbuilding companies Navantia and Fincantieri, as well as Naviris, a joint venture between the latter and the French company.

The partnership will strive to execute the second phase of the multirole patrol (MMPC) project, which builds on the foundations of the European Patrol Corvette initiated under a European Union-sponsored program.

The new phase will see the competition of the design of the corvettes as well as the integration of new technological packages to allow the vessels to be equipped with a variety of systems and payloads to perform a wider range of operations.