SENER Aeroespacial takes part in the European Commission USSPS project

SENER Aeroespacial is part of the consortium of the USSPS project (Unmanned Semifixed Sea Platforms), awarded by the European Commission under the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) 2020. The winning consortium is made up of 15 different European entities, including SENER Aeroespacial, and coordinated by the Greek company ETME.

USSPS project originates from the patented solution of ETME and will develop the backbone of an advanced C5ISTAR federated system of systems. It will integrate legacy assets and systems with innovative solutions, aiming to improve maritime surveillance capabilities, reduce high value asset utilization and mission related costs, providing cross-domain persistent and permanent maritime situational awareness in all EU domains.

The project will develop an unmanned highly autonomous, energy efficient and miniaturized oil rig technology-based platform capable to integrate a wide range of air, surface, and underwater sensors. The platforms will enable deployment in any geographical region, including all types of sea-beds and deep-sea regions, and operation under adverse environmental conditions.

Within the consortium, SENER Aeroespacial will carry out the design, manufacture and validation of the interface between the underwater vehicles and the platform itself, including the capture and docking system, as well as the power and data transfer system. This will be based on its experience in previous projects such as SIROM, HCS IBDM or RIDER, where SENER Aeroespacial has developed and validated docking technologies, with active capture elements also adapted for fluid transfer.

The USSPS project, which started in January 2022, involves 15 European companies from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Spain, France, Greece, Ireland and the Netherlands. It is estimated to last 42 months. Its total cost is €19,5 million, the highest of the 26 EDIDP 2020 selected projects, with an €12,8 million estimated EU funding contribution.