Syracuse III ground segment: helping French forces achieve a big ambition
By the very nature of its missions, the French Navy is usually operating a long way from home, and it was the first of the three forces to adopt long-range military satellite communications. Back in the 1990s, it used the Syracuse 2 military satellites, but the system only had the capacity to handle communications with a small number of land force units on overseas deployments. 
At the end of the 1990s, the Syracuse 3 programme was launched with a big ambition — to provide a single, unified joint forces system that would be secure and protected from jamming and could be used by both naval and land units.

 

Before Syracuse 3, the Navy and Army each had their own satellite communication ground systems. This third generation was a key milestone, since it effectively tied together the two systems and made better use of available satellite resources to serve a greater number of users and meet their growing communications requirements.

Already a seasoned user of satcom capabilities, the French Navy was enthusiastic about the new messaging and shared database technologies that were starting to emerge with the Internet. But these new technologies pushed up performance requirements, especially in terms of bandwidth and connectivity on the move and in harsh environments. 

The Syracuse 3 ground segment was an ambitious undertaking from the start. The stakes were high — France was moving to a single joint forces ground system, designed to interface with numerous other military systems and support critical end-to-end communications for users — and the technical, operational and schedule-related challenges were significant.

The Syracuse 3 programme was organised in two segments: the space segment (satellites and in-orbit control systems) and the ground segment (the system of communication capabilities for deployed users). 
 

The program  key dates

2000

The Syracuse 3 programme got underway in 2000 with the space segment and development of the Syracuse 3A and 3B satellites to meet the requirement for protected satellite transmissions. It also needed to meet the exponential growth in demand for high-data-rate, long-range communications since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the increase in overseas operations, first in Kosovo, then in Afghanistan and the Sahel region of Africa.

2002

The French defence procurement agency (DGA) and armed forces were keen to overcome satcom's inherent vulnerability to jamming threats by adopting not only new satellites but also a transmission capability with an extremely high level of protection. This led to the development of System21, in anticipation of the Syracuse 3 ground segment. The contract was awarded to Thales, which had invested in advanced studies many years before it won the ground segment contract. 

2004

In late 2004, the DGA and the forces selected Thales for the Syracuse 3 ground segment (network system and stations). This 15-year contract initially included three capability increments to be rolled out every 18 months, and a total of almost 400 naval and land stations and terminals designed for 24/7 use in all theatres. 
Since then, the Syracuse 3 ground segment has constantly evolved, based on feedback from users and in line with changes in operational requirements that would have been hard to imagine 15 years earlier. 

2006–07

Since 2006, the System21 protected transmission system has been qualified by NATO under STANAG 4606. This NATO qualification, and the achievements in France with the first operational deployments of the Syracuse 3 ground segment, enabled Thales to position itself on satcom programmes in the Middle East from 2007. 

2010

With its expanded international footprint and a fuller understanding of the new requirements expressed by land-based users of the Syracuse 3 system, Thales built up the wealth of experience it needed to upgrade the ground segment to all-IP technology. The upgrade was a real quantum leap in technology, and it all began with a new generation of all-IP System21 anti-jam modems, which were initially developed for international customers and later adopted by French forces. 

Other technological innovations followed, such as the mobile land stations for armoured vehicles on the move (under the VENUS programme*) and use of a new Ka frequency band for internet service, which complemented the existing X band and offered a taste of what would come next with Syracuse 4.

Today, these communication capabilities are in use round-the-clock and more than 400 naval and land stations and terminals are in service with French forces. And the success story also has an international dimension, with several contracts awarded by NATO and various countries in the European Union and the Middle East. As a result, Thales is now the No. 3 worldwide and No. 1 in Europe for protected military communication ground segments. 

 

The Syracuse 3 ground segment has more than delivered on the original ambition. It is a constantly evolving system that ties together critical communications from end to end, relying on progressive and ever closer integration between the network, transmission and station technologies to rapidly roll out capability gains for deployed forces. This continuous improvement has been achieved with no disruption to services and despite the perpetual cycle of new developments for the connected systems. 

The transition from the Syracuse 3 system to Syracuse 4** is planned for 2023, and the first phases of this new programme are already underway. 
 

 

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Syracuse 3

Syracuse is a French military communications programme based on secure, protected satellites and ground segments. The name is an acronym for SYstème de RAdioCommunication Utilisant un SatellitE (satellite-based radiocommunication system).
Syracuse provides a comprehensive communications capability between mainland France and units deployed overseas. The Syracuse 1 programme began in 1980, and three generations of satellites have been deployed since 1984.

Terminology: 

  • Complete programmes: Syracuse 3, Syracuse 4
  • Satellites: Syracuse 2, Syracuse 3 (two satellites: SYR3A, SYR3B), Syracuse 4 (two planned satellites: SYR4A, SYR4B)
  • Ground segments: Syracuse 3, Syracuse 4

Key figures

Two satellites: Syracuse 3A and 3B.

Ground segment:

  • One single system compatible with all types of stations in all kinds of deployment conditions. 

  • Four successive versions of the system from 2006 to 2014 to keep pace with the changing nature of operations. 
  • Ten different types of stations and terminals (400 in all) for naval and land forces, from the smallest on Griffon armoured vehicles to the largest system on the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier. 
  • Tenfold increase in the number of users. 
  •  An average of 500 to 1,000 people involved in development, manufacture, rollout and support at Thales and its ecosystem of partners.

Timeline

  • 2000: Syracuse 3 space contract launched
  • 2004: ground segment contract started 
  • 2005: Syracuse 3A in orbit
  • 2006: Syracuse 3B in orbit / ground segment enters 24/7 operational use

  • 2015: Syracuse IV space contract launched

  • 2019: Syracuse IV ground segment contract awarded (first increment)

  • 2021: Syracuse 4A in orbit
  • 2022: Syracuse 4B in orbit
  • 2023: first Syracuse 4 ground stations deployed / transition from Syracuse 3 ground system to Syracuse 4 system (through to 2027) 

 

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