Turin, 3rd December 2015 – Today in Turin, Finmeccanica-Selex ES presented a number of surveillance technologies chosen by NATO to help provide security for the organisation’s member countries. Launched in 2012, the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) programme uses remotely piloted aircraft, sensors, ground stations and mission support to conduct real-time surveillance. Large quantities of data can be collected and analysed, allowing NATO to secure vast areas of land and sea, even in areas with challenging geography or adverse weather conditions

This programme is another example of Finmeccanica successfully applying its capabilities in Unmanned Aerial Systems and their equipment, both on-board and on the ground.

Selex ES is one of the main industry partners of NATO AGS. The company supplies the programme’soperational control centre ground station, two transportable ground stations and communications technology for the transmission of data and imagery between drones, the ground segment and mission support facilities. These systems, which are core to the programme, are manufactured at Selex ES’s facility in Caselle, outside of Turin, which employs around 350 people.

The presentation in Turin was attended by local government figures, delegates from prime contractorNorthrop Grumman Corporation, representatives from the Italian Air Force and members of the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Management Agency (NAGSMA).

NATO AGS comprises the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft, sensors, ground stations and data transmission systems. Its main aims are to protect civilians and ground troops, to assist with border control and to improve NATO’s ability to respond to crises and provide humanitarian aid in emergencies. The system will go live in Italy from 2017 at the Italian Air Force’s Sigonella base in Sicily.