Development of military Galileo user equipment (MGUE, a new variant) got underway on February 8 with the kick-0ff meeting in Brussels of the Galileo for EU Defence (GEODE) project. Managed by the Belgian, French, German, Italian and Spanish Ministries of Defence and involving 30 companies from 14 EU member states, GEODE will establish the framework for developing the Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS) user segment for defence applications.
Galileo’s PRS is an encrypted navigation service for government-authorized users and sensitive applications that require high continuity. The PRS signal is more resistant to spoofing and jamming, ensuring service continuity and making it easier to identify potential jammers. It is intended for use by the military, police, fire departments, ambulances and search & rescue, border control and other government and government-authorized users.
GEODE kicks off with an initial specification and standardization phase to set the framework for prototyping, testing and qualifying 7 PRS Security Modules developed from various technologies, 9 PRS receivers (including 2 server-based variants), 4 GPS/Galileo PRS compatible anti-jamming controlled radiation pattern antennas for anti-spoofing, anti-jamming. Military operational field testing will be conducted on naval, land and UAV platforms, as well as timing and synchronization verification system. GEODE also envisions developing a PRS solution for spacecraft.
Belgium, Germany, Italy, France and Spain will contribute more than 82.7 million Euros to the project with 44 million Euros of support from the European Union. The GEODE project will be completed in 2026. Its military user equipment will be available for export to other countries that have the necessary PRS security agreements with the EU.
The GEODE industrial consortium is led by France Developpement Conseil (FDC) and comprises: Airbus Defence and Space, Antwerp Space, Cy4gate, Diehl Defence, Elettronica, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, GMV Aerospace and Defense, Indra Sistemas, Safran Electronics and Defense, Leonardo, Siemens Aktiengesellshaft, Orolia, Tecnobit, Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space Italia, Thales AVS France, Thales SIX GTS France, as well as with 12 other EU companies acting as subcontractors.
[photo courtesy GMV Aerospace and Defense]
