TopAxyz Inertial Navigation System for naval platforms

The TopAxyz inertial naval system is a high-end Inertial Navigation System (INS) designed to provide high-precision pointing, gyrocompass, localization and navigation functions for all marine platforms (ship, submarine, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) or Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV). Thanks to its recognized experience in designing high-end INS based on RLG (Ring Laser Gyro) technology, TopAxyz is the latest generation INS, benefitting from cutting-edge developments and major investment in brand new industrial resources, enabling the limits of RLG technology to be pushed back.

Thales is a world leader in the naval domain, with over 90 years of experience in both underwater and surface systems, and a leading exporter of naval command and control systems and associated services for more than 50 navies worldwide. Thales provides the widest range of products and systems for all types of surface ships, from the powerful AAW destroyer to the single patrol boat. This extensive portfolio includes:

• Large systems such Combat Management Systems;
• Equipment  for communication, identification, detection and alert;
• Sensors like sonar, radar, navigation.

In modern battleships where jammers and spoofers can be easily deployed, GNSS signal availability cannot be granted and Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) information cannot be fully blind trusted. To maximize mission continuity and efficiency, TopAxyz uses GPS information data when available and deploys a cutting-edge new GPS spoofing detection algorithm allowing you to rely on a trusted and accurate navigation. When GPS spoofing is detected, it provides resilient safe recovery navigation capabilities to safely pursue your mission.

The complexity of vessel missions is constantly increasing, requiring additional equipment to fulfil them. The space available on board is becoming a growing concern on all kinds of vessel: manned, unmanned, above water and underwater. TopAxyz IMU has the best SWAP credentials on the market, when compared with FOG and HRG technologies, resulting in a compact INS which is easy to integrate in the smallest space available on the vessel.

Moreover, its standard interfaces (NMEA 0183, IEEE 802.3), associated with automatic and autonomous equipment behaviour, will contribute to streamlining its onboard integration. TopAxyz has also been developed and qualified against the latest international standards (MIL-STD-1275-E, MIL-STD-810-G, MIL-STD-461-F) ensuring compliance with your processes and environment. An optional Navigation Data Distribution System can also be provided and adapted to your existing or legacy system (including analogue interface) in order to minimise the integration effort for both linefit and modernisation programs.

Autonomous systems will evolve in an unplanned environment and adapt their behavior to maximise mission efficiency. Trusted (Integrity), accurate and predictable navigation is the common critical factor to all types of mission operated by either a single or multiple collaborative platforms.

On-board mission AI (Artificial Intelligence) will determine several navigation paths to reach the target including mission constraints such as exclusion zone, inhibit RF emission (DVL, Sonar, USBL, LBL ..), duration to reach target, minimum localization accuracy on target, number and location of surface points, stop on sea bed, target direction of approach, energy optimization.  Each computed potential navigation path will be fully simulated in four dimensions (space and time) using the TopAxyz navigation model. Therefore, mission AI can choose the most appropriate navigation path to fulfil the mission.

TopAxyz has already demonstrated, by representative simulation, its capability to optimize mission trajectory. By using its predictable characteristics, TopAxyz is able to minimize and optimize active system usage (DVL, Sonar) for stealthy navigation, immune from its external environment (tide, water current) while preserving the required accuracy. TopAxyz’s predictable and stealthy worldwide navigation capabilities will be the foundation of a performant fully autonomous decision-making AI.

Navies are under constant pressure to reduce their operational and maintenance costs to maximize their budgetary effectiveness. Equipment reliability and availability are major contributors to achieve this goal. TopAxyz is maintenance-free (no calibration) throughout the product lifecycle and its Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) boasts reliability levels superior to 150,000 hours of Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) proven on  tens of millions of cumulated operating hours since 2015. This track record contributes significantly to your system availability in operation and drastically reduces your customer cost of ownership.

Adopting a new solution can generate some doubt regarding the ability of the equipment to fulfil your commitment in your environment without any constraints on your program. Therefore, Thales proposes a courtesy loan product within a short lead-time to enable comprehensive evalution in your operational environment, by demonstrating its pointing and navigation performance in order to fulfil your needs. 

Thales owns and masters all critical technologies from accelerometer to high-accuracy Ring Laser Gyrometer (RLG) that are designed and manufactured in its factory in France. 

Thanks  to its involvement in major civilian (Airbus A350 XWB) and flagship defense programs (SCORPION military land vehicle - French MoD), TopAxyz is offered with a very short lead-time, and product support is guaranteed throughout the longest program lifetimes.

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