THEME 1:  MARITIME SAFETY AND SECURITY

Huge financial pressures in the field of airborne maritime surveillance are forcing those working in the field to rethink their approach and to come up with low-cost solutions particularly relating to basic radar sensors featured in all systems. The PIRANA project has been devised as part of this drive.

The project will make it possible to identify and validate a new concept in radar head design for use in surveillance of fishing, pollution and illegal drugs or immigrant trafficking, and in sea rescue missions. More compact, lightweight and flexible as well as cheaper than existing versions, the innovative radar head will be a fundamental feature of the new generation of radar technology designed for installation on board planes, helicopters and ships, and even mounted on land-based masts.

PIRANA will be innovative not just in the technology used but also in the considerable flexibility it will offer, thanks to a range of functions including transmission/reception, waveform generation, data processing, etc., which it will ultimately include.

PIRANA PROJECT PARTNERS

Companies 

• Thales Systèmes Aéroportés in Brest is one of the world’s leaders in airborne radar and is directing the project. It is responsible for project management, specifications and overall validation. 
• Antennessa in Brest was founded in 1998 and develops antennae for the car, telecommunications, and civil and military electronics industries. 
• ESTAR, based in Rennes and Dinard (35), is a company specialising in engineering, research and development and industrialisation of electronic equipment.

Research centre 

• ENST Bretagne – The team involved belongs to the Microwave Research Department, member of LEST, the CNRS mixed research department.

Contacts

jean-yves.eouzan@pole-mer-bretagne.com
ali.khenchaf@pole-mer-bretagne.com