The Royal Navy Adopts iXBlue's Inertial Technology

PR64454

SAINT-GERMAIN-EN-LAYE, France, May 18 / PRNewswire=KYODO JBN / --

The Royal Navy has selected iXBlue's high-grade MARINS M7 to upgrade the

navigation systems of 35 major surface vessels and submarines through the award

of a 5-year contract to Lockheed Martin UK, iXBlue's strategic partner.  

iXBlue, a leading global player in navigation and positioning solutions, is

providing 70 MARINS M7 to equip 35 Royal Navy major surface ships and

submarines, as part of the Navigation Compass Programme.

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The decisions to equip both the Queen Elizabeth-Class Aircraft Carriers and the

fourth Astute-Class nuclear-power submarine with iXBlue's MARINS Inertial

Navigation System (INS) were the first steps made by the UK Ministry of Defense

toward the adoption of iXBlue Fiber Optic Gyroscope technology. With a 5-year

contract awarded to Lockheed Martin UK, iXBlue's strategic partner, the UK MoD

definitively embraces iXBlue's unrivalled inertial technology.

The 70 MARINS M7 INS will replace the obsolete gyro systems on board the Royal

Navy ships which include Type 23 Frigates, Hunt and Sandown Class mine

countermeasure vessels and submarines. They will be integrated by Lockheed

Martin UK within the compass system installed on board.

Robert Kramer, Vice-President of Lockheed Martin UK - Integrated Systems,

declared: "We conducted a detailed assessment of all available possible

partners along with their proposed technologies. By precisely understanding the

Royal Navy expectations and assessing their views on the industry leading

suppliers, it clearly appeared that iXBlue's solutions best fitted the needs in

terms of performance, capability and cost."

The MARINS family of military-grade FOG INS (M3, M5 and M7 models) are the

latest additions to iXBlue range of naval products. They offer outstanding

performances and unprecedented reliability to meet the requirements of the most

demanding navies. MARINS M7 model is the best available INS on the market,

offering a drift of less than 1 Nm in 72 hours of surface GNSS-denied or

submarine dived navigation.

"We are very grateful to the Royal Navy for such a decision that demonstrates

through a fair and open competition iXBlue's INS excellence in terms of

performance, reliability, lifecycle costs and versatility. This success relies

on iXBlue core values: innovation, excellence and a strong commitment to the

user" said Olivier Cervantes, iXBlue Vice President for Sales and Marketing.

Such a milestone contract opens up bright prospects for iXBlue in the field of

military inertial solutions and reinforces the technological leadership of the

French high-tech company.

Read more about iXBlue on http://www.ixblue.com

Media Contact

Claire Andre

Communications Manager

+33(0)1-30-08-88-88

pr@ixblue.com

David Cunningham

Area Sales Manager - Northern Europe

david.cunningham@ixblue.com

Source: iXBlue