France Selects Finnish Senop’s Top-Tier AFCD TI Smart Sights For Its Forces
One of NATO’s most significant and operationally experienced member nations has placed an order for optoelectronic systems designed and manufactured in Finland for its ground combat units. France’s smart sight procurement demonstrates how Senop’s product design and development, high-performance products, and cost-effectiveness throughout the entire life cycle support NATO forces interoperability and the development of combat systems.
Senop has secured a significant foothold in the European defence landscape with France’s Armament General Directorate (DGA) selecting the company’s Advanced Fire Control Device Thermal Imager (AFCD TI) for its future capability needs. This procurement follows a multi-year development and evaluation program and marks a major advancement in the long-standing cooperation between Senop, DGA, and Saab’s Ground Combat Unit.
“DGA’s selection reflects their confidence in our system, which we have tested and refined to meet strict European operational and technical standards. For Senop, this decision represents not only commercial success, but also validates the fact that our products are designed, engineered and manufactured to be high-performance and cost-effective throughout their entire life cycle, supporting NATO’s interoperability and the combat system development”, highlights Aki Korhonen, President of Senop Oy.
Antti Lommi, Head of Product Management, is one of the key players behind Senop’s success in this project. From the early stages of system development to the finalized contract, Lommi has worked with DGA to bring out the best possible result for both parties. Lommi´s long experience with Senop’s advanced sighting systems and seamless cooperation with key partners eg. Saab has proven to be crucial.
“For a sensor and sight manufacturer, like Senop, it’s extremely important to understand the characteristics of a weapons system and how forces use them. From this perspective, our cooperation with DGA has been exceptionally good and professional,” Lommi explains.
AFCD TI – Superior accuracy, simplified engagement workflow
Operational performance of the AFCD TI is defined by three core requirements: maximizing first round hit probability, reducing engagement time, and minimizing user driven aiming errors. The gunner simply measures the range to the target by pressing a button and tracking the moving target, after which the AFCD TI automatically calculates and predicts target movement and displays a new aiming crosshair for the operator to use.
Simplicity and ease of use are the key factors for systems intended for warfighting. From a research and development perspective, the AFCD TI is designed to minimize soldiers’ cognitive load and maximize combat effectiveness.
Only two buttons/switches are needed for operation: the laser button and the four-way joystick. Automatic data input from the sensors of the weapon and fire control systems assists the gunner. The weapon also transmits the ammunition type and the propellant temperature directly to the AFCD TI fire-control device. Even programming of ammunition (e.g., air burst) can be carried out with ease.
“By combining intuitive two‑button operation with automated sensor data and ammunition recognition, operators can stay focused on the mission rather than the system. The AFCD TI is exceptionally easy to use and simple to teach”, Product Manager Lasse Elomaa elaborates.
As reviewing comprehensive training data is fundamental to improving effectiveness, it’s important that the system offers versatile technical training options. The AFCD TI can be integrated into Saab’s live simulator systems, and the Smart Sight supports video recordings and live video streaming with both day and thermal imagers. All saved images and videos can be exported to external devices, such as a PC. Videos can be used to evaluate a gunner’s skills and aiming stability, for example during active fire
Sustainable and cost-effective design
The AFCD TI is designed and developed as modularly as possible, allowing new efficient components, subsystems and software to be updated. For example, after mechanical and software updates, the sight now supports several different Saab´s weapon systems making it an excellent choice for NATO partners with several shoulder firing systems in use. Modularity and upgradability extend the life cycle of the AFCD TI and at the same time reduce life cycle costs.
Senop is growing and investing
Senop is currently investing in new facilities in FInland to accommodate its rapid growth and its operations at the company´s Lievestuore unit will be moved to a new site.
“The new 3,000-square-metre production facility will increase Senop’s total production capacity and significantly improve production efficiency. The new facility is designed to accommodate future growth and an increased workforce”, says Aki Korhonen, President of Senop Oy.
The total investment in the project is approximately EUR 10 million, including investments in production machinery and equipment.
Senop is a trusted Finnish defence and security company that has been profiled as a top international situational awareness builder, combat capability maintainer and an expert in electro-optical technology. Senop provides high-performance night vision equipment designed for the most demanding environments, intelligent thermal camera technology-based sights, as well as demanding system integration services to the industry-leading defence and security players. Senop Communications is the leading supplier in Finland for secure communications solutions, providing secure and reliable turnkey communication solutions and lifecycle services for security and critical infrastructure industries. Millog Oy‘s subsidiary Senop is part of the Patria Group, its operations span across four locations and it employs over 150 professionals.