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D E F E N C E A N D S E C U R I T Y E L E C T R O N I C S 9/2010 FINMECCANICA MAGAZINE SELEX GALILEO GUARDIA DI FINANZA TEN YEARS WITH ATOS THE ATOS MISSION SYSTEM, DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED AT THE SELEX GALILEO CASELLE, TURIN SITE, IS CELEBRAT- ING AN IMPORTANT ANNIVERSARY: TEN YEARS OF MIS- SIONS ON BOARD THE ATR 42MP (MARITIME PATROL). PI- LOT AND GROUP CAPTAIN CAMILLO PASSALACQUA, COM- MANDER OF THE GUARDIA DI FINANZA AIR-SEA RECON- NAISSANCE GROUP (GEA) AT PRATICA DI MARE, RECALLED THIS LAST DECADE sion in Senegal. In these contexts, the Guardia di Finanza crews, aircraft and ATOS systems consistently distinguished themselves for their operational capacity and effectiveness. The ATOS mission system, now installed on three of our ATR 42MP aircraft, is without doubt a key weapon in the force’s fight against drug trafficking and all other forms of maritime smuggling. The effectiveness of the system, combined with the aircrafts’ nine-hour flight range, enable more than 1000 nautical miles of sea to be searched for boats in a single flight. ATOS records all monitored activity using a built-in system of three cameras: an infrared camera for night-time searches, a long-range camera to read the names of boats being investigated from distances of over 10km, and a colour video camera to determine their main chromatic features . The specific policing activities for which the planes are used to fulfil the institutional objectives of the Guardia di Finanza created a further technical requirement: guaranteeing the demonstrability of the data compiled. As a result, and in addition to the above, the system is also designed to record and store all data of interest, ge- “In 1999, in response to a specific operational requirement, we took delivery, at the Pratica di Mare base, of the first ATOS (Airborne Tactical Observation System) mission system from SELEX Galileo to be fitted on board one of the ATR 42MP aircraft developed by Alenia Aeronautica. Over the years, the SELEX Galileo team has always provided close support both in operator training and our operational activities, which has enabled them to better understand the technical requirements of a typical GEA mission and to develop increasingly effective and versatile versions of the system. The reliability of ATOS, despite its complexity, has enabled us to successfully complete all of the missions assigned to us in ten full years of service, which constitute a major test of its operational efficiency and integration of the platform and on-board equipment. The Guardia di Finanza (Italian customs authority) is used to working in an international environment alongside a range of different government bodies. For example, the activities undertaken as part of FRONTEX to combat illegal immigration in complex environmental and tactical scenarios, such as the ‘Hera’ misnerating video files of recordings and photos. ATOS and its sensors make the aircraft a genuine airborne operating room. In ten years of service, ATOS has completed 10,000 flight hours in Italy and abroad in a range of different operations: narcotics, smuggling, illegal immigration, public health and the environment, either internally or on behalf of judicial authorities or international bodies, which helps to strengthen the image of our airborne section as effective and professional. There was a significant episode in February 2009 when, following an intricate and complex investigation, the National Anti-Mafia Department asked for our support to track down a fishing vessel that was carrying a record quantity of cocaine. An ATR 42MP, fitted with ATOS, was deployed for the first time to the Azores, and we managed to find the boat 400 nautical miles to the west, right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It was stopped at sea and more than 5,300 kg of cocaine was confiscated. The operation was particularly appreciated by the National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor Mr Grasso, who publicly acclaimed the effectiveness of the aircraft operated by the Guardia di Finanza.” ATOS in the world Above: the ATOS platform on the ATR 42MP. Facing page: images past and present. Top: the ATOS team in 2010; below: ATOS system operators of the Guardia di Finanza (Air-Maritime Exploration Unit) with instructors from SELEX Galileo in 2000 66 67 More than 45 systems sold in the last ten years for a range of different fixed- and rotarywing platforms – including the ATR 42, DASH-8, CN235 and Beechcraft King Air 300 – in five different continents. In Italy, it is in use on the ATR 42 MPs operated by the Guardia di Finanza and the Coast Guard, with a lightweight version in use on the P166-DP1, also operated by the Guardia di Finanza. The Maritime Long Range Surveillance (MLRS) version of the system has also recently been chosen to equip the Italian Air Force’s ATR 72MP aircraft developed by Alenia Aeronautica.
S P A C E 9/2010 FINMECCANICA MAGAZINE TELESPAZIO COSMO-SkyMed © ASI distribuito da e-GEOS A SATELLITE MOSAIC MAP OF ITALY 68 69 E-GEOS, A TELESPAZIO AND ITALIAN SPACE AGENCY COMPANY OPERATING IN EARTH OBSERVATION, RECENTLY COMPLETED FULL COVERAGE OF THE ITALIAN TERRI- TORY USING RADAR IMAGES GENERATED BY COSMO-SKYMED SATELLITES. THE RE- SULT OF THE PROJECT IS EXTREMELY HI- GH-QUALITY MAPPING THAT OPENS UP NEW HORIZONS FOR IMAGES GENERATED BY THE CONSTELLATION E-GEOS, a joint venture created by Telespazio and the Italian Space Agency, plays a key role in the international Earth observation sector. For some years it has been working on a programme to develop applications based on satellite images, a strategy that anticipates market requirements and helps to create demand for increasingly innovative services using geospatial information. In this regard, the company, which is based in Rome with operational centres in Matera and Neustrelitz, Germany, invests independently in data acquisition and in the development of solutions that use cutting-edge technology. Having completed coverage of Italy with multispectral, satellite and aerial optical images, it then turned its attention to images generated by the radar sensors mounted on board the COSMO-SkyMed constellation, financed by the Italian Space Agency and the Italian Defence Ministry. In February and March, e-GEOS, the exclusive worldwide distributor of COSMO-SkyMed data for civil use, was engaged in producing coverage of the whole of Italy. The project revealed the unique and innovative characteristics of the COSMO-SkyMed system, which boasts extremely short revisit times as one of its outstanding features. The constellation is formed by four satellites (three already in orbit and a fourth scheduled for launch in October), which allow it to ‘photograph’ extremely large geographical areas (in this case the entire Italian peninsula) in greatly reduced times. It is capable of operating day and night, unrestricted by atmospheric conditions including cloud cover. Such performance levels are unknown in any other satellite system. Thanks to the features of COSMO-SkyMed, Left: the COSMO-SkyMed mosaic of Italy. One of the features of the COSMO-SkyMed system is its extremely short revisit times, allowing it to cover vast geographical areas in a short space of time
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