Safran’s Strategic Move: Acquiring Orolia to Lead the Future of Dependable Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Solutions
Following an exclusive negotiation phase that commenced in December 2021, Orolia — a globally acknowledged firm specializing in positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) along with related technologies and equipment — has now united with Safran Electronics & Defense, the European frontrunner and world number three in inertial navigation systems.
Orolia boasts a workforce of over 435 professionals in Europe and North America, generating approximately €100 million in revenue. Their offerings encompass atomic timepieces, time servers*, simulation, and resilience gear for GNSS** signals, in addition to emergency locator beacons tailored for both commercial aviation and military operations. This positions Orolia as an exceptionally harmonious and synergistic addition to Safran Electronics & Defense’s portfolio, addressing the intricacies of positioning, navigation, and synchronization amidst contested and sensitive environments.
In countless scenarios, GNSS systems act as the primary suppliers of time and positioning data, yet they require reinforcement through the integration of precise, high-integrity autonomous timing or inertial references.
By forging this alliance with Orolia, a premier supplier of time management solutions, Safran Electronics & Defense — a trailblazer in positioning and navigation solutions — will present a comprehensive and cohesive array of resilient PNT architectures and equipment, poised to tackle the integrity and robustness challenges faced in the aviation, defense, space, transportation, new mobility, and critical infrastructure sectors.
Jean-Yves Courtois, CEO of Orolia, remarked: “Orolia could not envision a more suitable partner than Safran to secure its advancement and enhance its PNT leadership. With the infusion of top-tier timing and inertial technologies, unrivaled access to the most extensive defense and aerospace markets, and a solid track record in capturing and executing government programs, Safran and Orolia are now fully equipped to position themselves as the Resilient PNT authority.”
Martin Sion, CEO of Safran Electronics & Defense, stated: “The acquisition of Orolia transforms Safran into one of the few firms that possesses the complete suite of PNT technologies, merging Orolia’s accurate time reference capabilities and Safran Electronics & Defense’s established inertial navigation solutions. Our united ambition is to ascend to the pinnacle of resilient PNT leadership for both conventional and strategic applications globally.”
*A time server is a server computer that delivers precise reference time
**Global Navigation Satellite System (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou, etc.).
