Safran said it invested €120 million this year in its French capabilities, where its Hemispherical Resonator Gyroscope technology is developed and manufactured. For submarines, inertial navigation provides the autonomy needed to operate underwater without satellite signals and independently initialise missile launches.
The new navigation system for France’s third-generation ballistic-missile submarines is designed to operate for extended periods without GNSS recalibration. It will succeed the SGN-3EV system currently in service aboard Triomphant-class submarines.
The M51.4 missile will use a new CI4 inertial navigation unit incorporating HRG Dual Core technology. Safran said the unit would offer greater accuracy in a substantially smaller package, with the missile intended to equip second- and third-generation ballistic-missile submarines.
HRG Dual Core technology will also equip most Rafale fighters from the fifth production batch, featuring the F4 standard. A Safran navigation system aboard Charles de Gaulle provides the reference used to align the fighters’ navigation systems at sea before each mission.
“We are particularly proud of the renewed trust shown by the DGA since 1972 in Safran’s navigation and timing solutions,” said Franck Saudo, president of Safran Electronics & Defense. “We owe our ability to meet the highest standards and deliver the best possible performance to our teams and our 58 industrial and technological sites, rooted in local regions as well as internationally, which contribute every day to the sovereignty of France and its allies”.
Safran’s equipment also supported the successful launch of an M51.3 missile from Le Vigilant off Brittany on 6 October. The test was conducted to validate the submarine’s operational capability following periodic maintenance and overhaul.
The SGN-3EV navigation system and BELUGA high-precision clock supplied position and timing data aboard the submarine, while Safran’s inertial navigation unit guided the missile. ICARE radar transponders and an RGNSS receiver supported tracking from the test centre throughout the flight.
