The French Navy has awarded a four-year contract covering the provision of a satellite-based maritime surveillance service to a consortium of Airbus Defence and Space and Telespazio France. Under the Trimaran 2 contract, a follow-up to Trimaran 1, Maritime zone commanders will have access to a portal for surveillance services using optical and radar imaging and AIS (Automatic Identification System) data to enhance the effectiveness of their national maritime missions. 

France has an economic exclusion zone covering more than 11 million km², the second largest in the world behind the United States. In a tense geopolitical context and a time of economic restrictions, the French Navy carries out maritime search and rescue missions to ensure the safety of people and the environment, making particular use of advanced technologies. 

Airbus Defence and Space and Telespazio France will be utilising a unique combination of satellites for the Trimaran 2 service, which supplements the range of resources already implemented by the French Navy and forms an integral part of its operations concept. This contract runs from 2016 to 2020. 

Through a dedicated portal, each of the French Navy's maritime command zones will enjoy round-the-clock access to the acquisition capacity of the satellites, with a wide range of reactive services across the globe. Whatever the operation in progress, its type or location, radar and optical satellite images are interpreted by the image analysts at Telespazio France and Airbus Defence and Space as soon as they are received and correlated with the AIS data. Reports are then produced and sent to the users, once again via the portal, indicating the types of vessels detected, their position, speed and heading.