DÉLÉGATION GÉNÉRALE POUR L'ARMEMENT NOTIFIED SAGEM OF ONE-BILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT TO DEVELOP FUTURE INFANTRY SOLDIER SYSTEM
04 March 2004 - Sagem Communication

The contract includes the delivery of 22,600 systems intended for the twenty Infantry battalions to which will be added around 9,000 systems for the dismounted soldiers of the armoured Cavalry, of the Artillery and of the Corps of Engineers. The first Infantry battalion will receive its systems as soon as mid 2007. By the end of 2008, two thirds of the French Land Forces Infantry units will be equipped.

FELIN is a complete set of equipment designed as a true weapon system and organised around the soldier. It will significantly enhance the capacities and reactivity of the infantryman in action: thus equipped he will be able to see and fire from twice the usual range, day and night, transmit in real-time digital images of targets, for immediate tactical decision making. The capacity to transmit data, video images and voice will speed up action. The soldier will move faster due to this light and ergonomic equipment which will also protect him better against ballistic and NBC threats and difficult climate conditions.

The FELIN system will be integrated into the digital combat network. Open to evolution, it will later fit into the « Network Centric Warfare, (from the French acronym BOA, Bulle Opérationnelle Aéroterrestre, doctrine).

It consists of:

weapons (the FAMAS automatic assault rifle, the MINIMI light machine gun and the FRF2 sniper rifle) fitted with modern optronic devices: light intensifier sight or infra-red thermal sight. The FAMAS sight will include a camera which will transmit images either to a display located on the soldier's chest or to a helmet-mounted display;

a head gear, consisting of, besides the protection helmet, optronic devices allowing to display on miniature screens the video images captured by the weapon sight or by the night vision camera fitted to the helmet;

a wearable electronic platform, at the core of the FELIN future soldier system: organised around an open-ended, high throughput digital bus (USB 2.0), it manages the energy resources and signal exchanges between the various equipment (weapon, radio, head gear, etc.). A man-machine interface carries out the indirect firing function, which allows observation or precise fire control without exposing the soldier, and the system management function;

Section leaders will be equipped with multifunction thermal binoculars (with range-finder and compass) offering them a complementary day and night observation capability. Specialised platoon and section leaders will be equipped with a portable 'terminal information system', the size of a Personal Digital Assistant, allowing ciphered exchanges of information with the upper levels of command and a better awareness of the tactical situation.

This implementation contract is the outcome of ten years of programme preparation by the French DGA and Army, during which numerous studies have been made, such as for example: multifunction binoculars, laser protection, ballistic protection, hearing protection, etc. in order to master the entire set of technologies necessary for the implementation of the system. The programme demonstrator, named ECAD, has allowed, during operational tests conducted by infantry units to validate the choice of selected functions and reach a conclusion on the system feasibility.

Various European countries are currently researching along similar lines. The French FELIN system will be the first future soldier system to be put to operational service by an Army of the European Union.

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