On Dec. 22, 2003 the defence procurement agency, DGA, ordered the second Syracuse 3B new-generation military telecommunications satellite. This order is an extension of the contract awarded to Alcatel Space in late 2000 for the in-orbit delivery of the first Syracuse 3A, and for the related upgrade of the existing ground segment.
As for the first satellite, this is an in-orbit delivery, with a launch by Ariane 5 rocket.
Values at a total of 2 billion euros, the Syracuse 3 program includes
-- two simultaneously-operated satellites;
-- a total of 600 autonomous ground stations, deployed on the ground or on naval ships. They vary in size from portable models to the station deployed on the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.
The Syracuse satellite-based military telecommunications system ensures permanent links between the nation’s political and military leadership in France, and operational units deployed throughout the world. It also allows deployed units to communicate among themselves.
The Syracuse 3 program will replace the current Syracuse 2 by increasing bandwidth and performance by a factor of ten. It meets military requirements for both voice communications and encryptyed data.
DGA’s Service of Observation, Telecommunications and Information Programs manages the Syracuse 3 program on behalf of the armed forces, with the support of the DGA’s Centre d’Electronique de l’Armement (defense electronics center) and the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (National space research center). (ends)
DGA Orders Second New-Generation Syracuse 3B Military Telecommunications Satellite
