Fabrizio Giulianini is chief executive of Selex Galileo

What new products is Selex Galileo unveiling at Paris and on which programmes is the company focusing?

I always look forward to Le Bourget - it's a fantastic stage to present the latest technologies our engineers have been developing.

At Le Bourget, visitors will, for the first time, have the opportunity to see our new Falco Evo [unmanned air system], fully integrated with its sensor payloads, including ESM capability. The Falco Evo is based on our Falco UAS [unmanned air system], the only European high-end tactical UAS in service with three international customers, but has improved endurance and can carry more payload.

Falco UAV - Selex Galileo
 © Selex Galileo

We'll also have our ASIO mini vertical take-off/landing UAS, demonstrating live its "perch and stare" capability. It is just one of our mini/micro UASs that can offer an incredible advantage to soldiers and special forces.

Importantly, we're presenting the latest advances in electronic warfare technology, namely our SEER radar warning receiver and SAGE ESM [electronic surveillance measures] solution, both ideal for manned and unmanned platforms and on show for the first time.

Of course, we'll be focusing our efforts on the current Eurofighter campaigns, as well as other key export opportunities.

What are Selex Galileo's main objectives and market strategy for the future, with declining European markets?

With European spending decreasing, it's a tough time for the industry. But in the same way that the Chinese word for "crisis" is made up of combining the words "danger" and "opportunity", we're balancing a recognition of the challenging economic climate in the West with a strategic drive towards export sales in economies that are still booming.

Budgets are still rising in many countries such as Brazil, India, Turkey and Saudi Arabia and we are keen to build on our experience in these markets, exploiting our technological expertise to become key partners on strategic programmes. All these emerging markets have in common the desire to improve their sovereignty on a number of critical Defence and Security technologies and are keen to support the transfer of technology in the country.

We at Selex Galileo possess a rich portfolio of advanced proprietary technologies, products and system solutions and are well positioned to enter into cooperation with local companies. We look forward to working with companies such as ATMOS [Sistemas] and DCTA [the department of aerospace and technology] in Brazil, KACST in Saudi Arabia and foundation companies in Turkey, many of which will be able to deliver incredibly advanced technology. We are confident that our technology transfer plans, for example our project to create an AESA [active electronically-scanned array] manufacturing hub in Brazil, will lead to mature product solutions for customers.

It should also be mentioned that reduced defence budgets have transformed interoperability from 'nice to have' into an absolute necessity. It's unlikely that countries will be committing to operations unilaterally and so systems that work together seamlessly with those from other countries are becoming the norm rather than the exception. Our approach is to shift away from looking at specific domestic requirements and make our solutions more flexible and based on modular systems, meaning we can adapt them for a range of applications.

Selex Galileo has recently expanded its UAS portfolio, acquiring UTRI. What is the company focusing on as it develops in this area?

We've been collaborating with UTRI for a number of years now and the acquisition was a natural step to bring in-house additional products for which the market has shown a clear interest. It's like marrying the person who we've been living with for several years: it's exciting, but not a massive change to the relationship.

Adding mini/micro UASs to our portfolio alongside the Falco allows us to offer a complete spectrum of UASs that we can tailor to customers' needs, and we're now able to put our full marketing weight behind these innovative products. Also, by keeping the mini/micro UAS team together as a rapid design and manufacturing unit, we'll be able to bring new, innovative UAS solutions to market with an agility you might not expect from a large company like Selex Galileo.

Can you detail your UAS development road-map, and identify potential customers in the market?

At Selex Galileo, we own all the technology behind the Falco system. This includes the payloads, avionics, mission system and ground station, as well as relevant data exploitation, so we can offer a far more flexible solution for customers.

If you were buying a car, you'd want to choose the technical specifications that suited you best, and it's the same when buying a UAS. You want to buy a system that is specifically suited to the job, down to individual sensors, and because we own the entire system, we can provide a 100% tailored solution.

It's something that our customers want, but our competitors might not have. Falco is also the only complete European solution in the tactical segment with market opportunities that naturally fall into non-US and non-Israeli markets.

The new Falco Evo has the performance of a MALE [medium altitude, long endurance] UAS with reduced operational costs. The Falco Evo will offer longer surveillance persistency, higher payload capability and the same co-production availability as the existing Falco.

Selex Galileo has a long heritage in both conventional and AESA-equipped radars. What are the trends in each sector?

Selex Galileo has a complete portfolio in mechanically- and electronically-scanned radars. We're continuing to invest in both technologies to maintain and improve our competitive position on E-scan radar, and to maximise performance while reducing the cost of our M-scan solutions in order to further expand the market.

The company's airborne tactical observation and surveillance (ATOS) family has recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. What are the latest developments?

Our ATOS surveillance mission system is an affordable, modular and reliable solution that is in service with multiple customers. We've managed to successfully achieve a complex architecture design and data fusion track record with very demanding customers.

In terms of development, we are focusing on expanding our overland surveillance capability. Our Seaspray radar, for example, has a ground moving target indicator (GMTI) capability, making it ideal for overland use. We believe that maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare requirements will continue to grow.

Selex Galileo is developing a directional infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) solution for the UK Ministry of Defence, to be part of the Common Defensive Aids System (CDAS) programme. Can you elaborate on both solutions?

In 2010, the UK MoD launched the four-year CDAS Technology Demonstrator Programme (CDAS TDP) and we're now approaching the first flight test campaign. The CDAS route map shows that the architecture will roll out to a wide range of platforms and bring in new types of sensors and countermeasures, including hostile fire indicators (HFIs) and DIRCM.

We recently completed SIL [systems integration laboratory] testing of the first implementation of a CDAS architecture using a mixture of old and new sub-systems communicating over 1553B and Ethernet, using some of the new common message types. This included successful demonstration of the integration of the Eclipse DIRCM pointer-tracker subsystem, a major element of the UK's approach to implementing a compact and highly effective IRCM solution.

What are the latest developments in the company's electronic warfare (EW) activities?

Currently, we have a number of very strong self-protection capabilities. We're actually the world's third most important supplier of EW technology, just behind the major US primes and we're selling our AGP [aircraft gateway processor] and HIDAS [helicopter integrated defensive aids system] defensive aids in several markets including the USA. With AGP being Apache A-kit on all new and remanufactured extended block II and block III Apache helicopters, we're now looking to further grow our relationship with Boeing to increase market share in the USA and abroad.

Additionally, we've identified and developed new technologies and product solutions such as SEER, SAGE and EW maritime capabilities to penetrate new market segments such as UASs and naval platforms. We've seen a growing demand for radar and IRCM combined into a single system and we're taking the trend into account.

Also worth mentioning is our laser excellence. We have sold more than 4,500 lasers for programmes in over 25 countries, with integration completed on some 40 platforms across air, land and sea.

Source: Flight Daily News

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