FELIN: Cutting-Edge Capabilities for French Soldiers
French soldier system makes first public debut at press presentation
11:09 GMT, July 2, 2009 Cats are fascinating animals. All members of the cat family are true carnivores that have to hunt and kill in order to survive. They are capable of running at great speed in short bursts of intense activity while in pursuit of their prey. They use hidden lookout posts where they first observe their prey and are able to attack with a precise and effective lethal move without being seen.
What if these natural virtues could be acquired by technical means to support soldiers in one of today’s most dangerous mission areas: the urban environment? These aspects seem to have inspired the French Army and the defence procurement agency DGA when they evaluated a study of the dismounted soldier modernisation programme in 1995 which lead to the development of the FELIN (French for cat, cat of prey but also for “Fantassin à Équipements et Liaisons Intégrés”) Dismounted Soldier System. This system is currently completing the evaluation process and entering production. defence.professionals (defpro.com) yesterday had the opportunity to convince itself of the results of the French development activities during a presentation in Sissonne in northern France.
First public debut of the FELIN
The operational objectives had been defined since the beginning to enhance all capabilities of dismounted soldiers such as protection, weapons use, communication, observation and intelligence, and increased endurance. All objectives have lead to the FELIN production series which had its first public debut at the international press presentation on Wednesday. At the French MOUT (Military Operations on Urban Terrain) training centre in Sissonne, the prime contractor, Sagem Défense Sécurité (SAFRAN Group), in cooperation with the DGA, presented the different system configurations in a dynamic demonstration at the Platoon level.
The entire system has a modular design and can, therefore, easily be adjusted to any mission profile. The platoon commander can choose which capabilities are required for the particular mission and, accordingly, how the soldiers are to be equipped. He can select different armaments such as FAMAs, FRF2 sniper rifles or the 5.56mm Minimi. Furthermore, he has the choice of different protection levels such as lightweight protection, ballistic vests including protection plates, or even a full NBC-protection kit.
Information exchange providing increased situational awareness
The heart of the system is the C4I module which connects each soldier to the squad’s network. The individual radio, GPS and man-machine interface (MMI) links the soldier to the platoon network. He may send and receive information in the form of voice input, data or pictures. The platoon leader is fitted with a dismounted Battle Management System (BMS) that keeps him connected to the superior level network. The dismounted system is a replication of the BMS system in the vehicle. The 6.5 inch display provides joint tactical awareness.
Situation awareness is another major aspect of the programme. FELIN will increase the sight advantage of the soldier using the most modern and highly effective optronic sensors. Several Sagem-built sensors are implemented in the system, such as the FRF2 sight for the sniper, the FAMAS sight with an uncooled infrared offering day and night vision, JIM MR medium-range multifunction binoculars and the OCD monocular device. These optronics not only increase the soldiers’ distance and night sight advantages, but also allows him to look and fire around corners. The system’s open platform also permits to integrate further elements, such as tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other unmanned systems, into the network.
So far, Sagem has developed some 350 systems in different prototype versions. Since 2004 they have been intensively operationally tested in different scenarios and environments, including Djibouti and Guyana, to identify the best set up for any soldier’s demands.
The entire evaluation and design process has been conducted in a joint network between industry, Army and the DGA, company spokesman Philippe Wodka-Gallien told defpro.com. The main functionalities are now operationally validated; only a few modifications are expected to be made.
More customers in sight
The system is scheduled to be deployed in the course of the first quarter of 2010. The first such systems may arrive in Afghanistan at the end of next year. Further, 22,588 systems might be delivered to the French Army by 2015 to have it fully equipped and integrated in the digitized battlefield. According to Pascal Brossard, Deputy VP Sales & Marketing at the Land Warfare Business Unit of Sagem, four battalions with 1,000 systems each will be fitted each year. A system itself consists of some 70 items including those provided by about 25 subcontractors from Italy (Bayonet), Germany, United Kingdom, Belgium and Switzerland.
Mr Brossard said the system is also attracting attention from countries such as Brazil, the UAE and Eastern Europe. Beyond that, French firefighters have shown a deep interest in a variant of the system called ROBIN, which consists of the radio and the day/night optronics, as well as the C2 system.
Luca Bonsignore
