Defense

Sodern designs and manufactures the star trackers used in the French M51 oceanic ballistic missiles. Developed to offer exceptional reliability and resistance to extreme environments, these star trackers deliver high-performance navigation by providing precise attitude and positioning data in the most demanding environments.

In 2016, at the request of the French Defense Procurement and Technology Agency (DGA), Sodern partnered with the Safran Group, the European leader in inertial navigation units, to design daytime star trackers. The objective was to develop a star tracker capable of operating within the Earth’s atmosphere, even in bright daylight, and adaptable to military platforms such as aircraft and drones, to provide extremely precise positioning independently of satellite data.

The solution designed by Sodern and Safran combines a star tracker with an inertial navigation unit, delivering highly accurate measurements of the aircraft’s movements. This system will equip military aircraft, whose satellite positioning systems are often jammed by hostile forces in theatres of operations, thereby strengthening the autonomy of the French Armed Forces and ensuring operational superiority in critical situations.

At the end of 2020, the DGA carried out four test flights on board a government aircraft. Throughout the test campaign, the system consistently delivered precise positioning, confirming its viability. Along each flight path, numerous stars were successfully identified and accurately tracked by the demonstrator.

For over thirty years, Sodern has been designing and manufacturing the core of France’s Earth observation satellites: the focal planes.

From Hélios to CSO (Composante Spatiale Optique), we have created the “retina” of France’s optical imaging intelligence satellites. The CSO satellites, the latest generation operated by the French Ministry for the Armed Forces, deliver very high resolution and exceptional capabilities.