PARIS — Airbus Defence and Space, together with Naval Group, won a contract worth as much as €480 million (US$504 million) to upgrade the communications system of the French Navy to prepare for collaborative and networked combat.
Airbus is leading an industrial consortium that will equip more than 80 vessels of the French naval forces with the RIFAN 3 network, including the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, amphibious helicopter carriers, frigates and submarines, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The system will be deployed on ships between 2028 and 2032, according to Airbus.
The third stage of the RIFAN network aims to boost connectivity between ships, equipping frontline vessels with high-speed and low-latency systems that will allow for collaborative combat, according to Airbus. The network will also feature enhanced security to deal with increased cyber threats, the company said.
“With RIFAN 3, we are preparing for the next stage, that of collaborative naval combat, networked combat of all assets and platforms involved in naval operations,” said Eric Even, the head of space digital at Airbus Defence and Space.
The French Navy currently operates the RIFAN 2 network, which was commissioned between 2012 and 2016, enabling vessels to communicate on an IP network with a “very high level” of security, and exchange data with various levels of confidentiality. RIFAN stands for Réseau IP de la Force Aéronavale, or IP network of the aeronaval force.
The upgraded network will be made more resilient with mechanisms allowing for “rapid configuration” to adapt available means of communication in different tactical and operational scenarios, according to Airbus.
One of the features of the war in Ukraine has been extensive use of electronic warfare to jam communications, and the French Navy’s carrier strike group typically trains for degraded conditions including loss of satellite communications during every deployment.
The contract with the French Navy has a maximum duration of 10 years, covering development of the RIFAN upgrades between 2026 and 2030, as well as deployment and operational maintenance, Airbus said.
Airbus has previously said RIFAN 3 includes high-speed, line-of-sight communications, a unified IP telephony system, enhanced cybersecurity and resource optimization. Several French companies, including Safran and Cailabs, are working on secure line-of-sight laser communications that could be used for ship-to-ship data transfers.
Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.
