Through the directives of Turkish Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB), the optical communication system developed by STM Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret A.Ş. and Bahçeşehir University (BAU), which provides a link between submarines and divers, is intended to be integrated with the optical surveillance system of German HENSOLDT, a global pioneer of technology and innovation in the area of defence, under a protocol signed between HENSOLDT, STM and BAU. The system, once developed, will be the first of its kind in the world. This cooperation is announced at the 2018 EURONAVAL naval defence fair in Paris.
A subsidiary of the Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB), STM is a long-established organisation with broad naval experience that has been using its engineering capabilities in the development of critical technologies for the benefit of Turkey for more than 25 years. Since its establishment, STM attaches great importance to the cooperation with the academia where the underwater optical communication system is a result of one of these cooperation that has developed with BAU.
STM along with BAU signed a joint protocol with HENSOLDT, a global pioneer of technology and innovation, at EURONAVAL 2018 as part of the “Project for Underwater Optical Communication between Submarines and Divers” that allows wireless underwater voice communications.
Special Design to be Developed Under the Protocol
Under the protocol, STM, BAU and HENSOLDT intend to integrate the “Optical Communication System between Submarines and Divers” developed by STM and BAU with the “Optical Surveillance System” of HENSOLDT. HENSOLDT’s “Optical Surveillance System” is a high-tech system comprising various camera configurations that allows submarines to maintain 360-degree surveillance. The integration of this unique underwater optical communication system into HENSOLDT’s Optical Surveillance System, parallel to the challenges in submarine design, will showcase STM’s engineering experience and capabilities.
STM-BAU Targets: Secure Military Communication
The joint project undertaken by STM with BAU for the development of optical communication systems aims at contributing to security in military communication. STM-BAU has already developed prototype optical communication systems that can provide communication between underwater units/platforms, underwater-air vehicles, naval surface-surface vehicles and stationary land platforms. Once serial production of the prototypes begins and is used in the field, they will complement RF (radio frequency) communication systems in terms of security and redundancy. The Optical Communication System will eliminate certain disadvantages of the RF system in such areas as interception, eavesdropping, and communication jamming, making communications more secure.