Safran To Provide Navigation Systems For French Griffon Armored Vehicles

Safran has been chosen to provide the navigation systems for Griffon armored vehicles as part of France’s Scorpion program.

This program is designed to enhance the front-line fighting capabilities of the French army, including the delivery of 1,668 Griffon multirole armored vehicles (VBMR) between 2018 and 2033, the company said in a statement Monday.

Safran will supply the Epsilon 10 navigation system for Griffon armored vehicles, along with a system based on hemispherical resonating gyros (HRG) for the artillery observation version (VOA). 

Griffon VOA artillery observation vehicles will be fitted with Safran’s Paseo optronic (electro-optical) system, comprising an inertial navigator derived from the Sigma 20 family. This system will give the Griffon VOA target location capability on a par with NATO’s best-in-class standards. 

The Epsilon 10 navigation system is an integral part of the digital battlefield and operates in conjunction with a tactical coordination instrument. It gives multirole armored vehicles autonomous engagement capability in the case of a GPS signal loss, jamming or other countermeasures. 

The decisive factors in the French army’s choice of Safran’s navigation systems were their overall performance, proven reliability and limited cost of ownership. These systems take advantage of the high-level integration of Quapason vibrating gyros and HRGs, two inertial sensor technologies patented by Safran Electronics & Defense. 

Safran’s selection for the Scorpion program confirms the company’s strategic choice of vibrating inertial sensors for the new generation of land combat navigation systems (Epsilon and Sigma 20 families). These latest business wins also reflect the state-of-the-art machinery and equipment installed at Safran Electronics & Defense’s Montluçon plant, where the navigation systems are produced.