Airbus and Optonaval Announce Partnership at Euronaval 2024

Paris, 6 November 2024 – Airbus Defence and Space, a global leader in aviation, space, and defence, and Optonaval, a key provider of advanced Helicopter Visual Landing Aid Systems (HVLAS), are pleased to announce a partnership to innovate maritime flight operations. This collaboration will integrate Airbus’s cutting-edge DeckFinder™, a local positioning system, which enables high-precision automatic take-offs and landings on moving ship decks, into Optonaval’s innovative visual landing aids. This integration is expected to deliver unprecedented precision and safety for both manned and unmanned maritime flight missions.

"Our customers are currently in a transition phase, where traditional manned missions are increasingly being replaced by unmanned systems, and where all-weather capability, GNSS- independent automatic take-off and landing is becoming more and more important," said Falk Hoffmann, programme director for DeckFinder™ at Airbus. "This partnership is our commitment to provide them with enhanced capabilities to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow."

Christopher Schäding, Managing Director of Optonaval, highlighted the unique impact of this collaboration: “By combining our technologies, we are setting new standards for safety and efficiency in maritime operations. This integration will allow us to deliver unmatched value to our customers, as only one installation is required to support two systems, simplifying operations and enhancing mission versatility.”

For more information, please contact:

Airbus Defence and Space - DeckFinder™
Falk Hoffmann
deckfinder@airbus.com

Optonaval GmbH
Christopher Schäding
sales@optonaval.de