Leonardo 30 May 2017
A European consortium of companies headed up by e-GEOS – a Telespazio (80%) and the Italian Space Agency (20%) joint venture – will provide satellite data from the Copernicus programme to support EU security operations outside its own territory. This is what is foreseen by the new framework agreement assigned to the consortium by the European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen), the European agency that supports foreign policy actions, particularly in the area of common security and defence.
Through this service, e-GEOS will assist SatCen in supporting the European Union in its security operations outside its territory, providing the EU with georeferenced information on remote, difficult to access critical areas under observation for matters of security. Data from the Copernicus "constellation" of satellites can further be used to provide support in crisis situations to prevent external threats.
To ensure the production of the large quantity of images as required by the contract, every hour for 365 days a year, e-GEOS will lead a European consortium consisting of GAF and Telespazio Iberica, which are both of the Telespazio group - a Leonardo (67%) and Thales (33%) joint venture -; Airbus Defence and Space; GMV; IABG and SIRS.
Under the supervision of the Political and Security Committee and the operational direction of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, SatCen will provide prompt reports of potential crises to policy makers. This will permit them to adopt diplomatic, economic and humanitarian measures in a timely manner, including the general planning of the action to be taken.
e-GEOS an international leader in the Earth Observation and Geo-Spatial Information sector, offers a portfolio of application services, partly thanks to the monitoring capacity offered by the Italian COSMO-SkyMed constellation and to the relevant role that the Company plays in the European Copernicus Programme.
