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Safran officially acquires Orolia for PNT solutions

July 11, 2022  - By
Orolia’s VersaSync (left) is a high-performance GPS master clock and network time server. Safran’s Geonyx is an inertial navigation system with advanced Hemispherical Resonator Gyro (HRG) technology for high-performance navigation and pointing, even in GNSS-denied environments. (P

Orolia’s VersaSync (left) is a high-performance GPS master clock and network time server. Safran’s Geonyx is an inertial navigation system with advanced hemispherical resonator gyro (HRG) technology for high-performance navigation and pointing, even in GNSS-denied environments. (Photo: Safran)

After a negotiation process that began in December 2021, Orolia officially joined Safran Electronics & Defense on July 8.

Orolia employs more than 435 people in Europe and North America and has revenues of about €100 million. Its solutions include atomic clocks, time servers, simulation and resilience equipment for GNSS signals, and emergency locator beacons for commercial aviation and military applications.

These products and solutions will complement Safran Electronics & Defense’s activities as it meets the challenges of positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) in contested and vulnerable environments, Safran said.

In most situations, GNSS receivers are the reference providers of time and position data. Still, they need to be secured by combining them with accurate, high-integrity autonomous time or inertial references.

Through this partnership with Orolia, Safran Electronics & Defense, will offer a comprehensive set of resilient PNT architectures and equipment to meet the challenges of integrity and robustness for the aviation, defense, space, transportation, new mobility and critical infrastructure markets.

“Orolia could not imagine a better fit than with Safran to secure its growth and leverage its PNT leadership positions,” said Jean-Yves Courtois, CEO of Orolia. “Thanks to the addition of best-in-class timing and inertial technologies, premier access to the largest defense and aerospace markets, and a proven track record in government program capture and execution, Safran and Orolia now have all the cards in hand to establish themselves as the resilient PNT leader.”

Martin Sion, CEO of Safran Electronics & Defense, said: “The acquisition of Orolia makes Safran one of the few companies with the full complement of PNT technologies, bringing together Orolia’s precise time referencing and Safran Electronics & Defense’s proven inertial navigation solutions. Our shared ambition is to become the world leader in resilient PNT for all conventional and strategic applications.”

About the Author: Tracy Cozzens

Senior Editor Tracy Cozzens joined GPS World magazine in 2006. She also is editor of GPS World’s newsletters and the sister website Geospatial Solutions. She has worked in government, for non-profits, and in corporate communications, editing a variety of publications for audiences ranging from federal government contractors to teachers.