Royal Norwegian Navy Chooses Sagem Navigation System

Sagem (Safran) has won a contract from the Royal Norwegian Navy in competitive bidding for the navigation system on its polar research ship, the RV Kronprins Haakon, as well as the future 26,000-metric-ton ocean support vessel to be built by the Korean shipyard DSME under a contract signed in July 2013 with the Norwegian defense logistics organization.

 Both navy ships will be equipped with SIGMA 40 laser-gyro navigation system, which was developed and produced by Sagem as an inertial navigation system based on laser gyros and designed for harsh military environments. The Sigma 40 is a high-precision, autonomous navigation system that contributes to the effectiveness of naval weapon systems and mission success, its developer said.

Sigma laser gyro navigation systems are used on some of the latest and most prestigious combat vessels, including the European FREMM and Horizon frigates, the Mistral BPC class amphibious assault ship, and South Korea’s amphibious helicopter carrier, the LPX Dokdo. The Sigma 40XP version of the system was chosen for the Scorpène class conventional submarines built by French naval shipyard DCNS, for the modernization of navigation systems on Améthyste class nuclear attack submarines, and for the future Barracuda class submarines.

Sagem’s military navigation systems are used on more than 450 surface vessels and 60 submarines (14 different classes).