ARTEMIS: first naval staring IRST in service

Dealing with military and asymmetric threats represents a key issue for any military vessel in various environment. In order to support ship's self protection, Thales has designed a new generation of naval InfraRed Search and Track (IRST) called ARTEMIS. It has been selected to equip Future European Multi Roles Frigates (FREMM). ARTEMIS is a fully new passive staring IRST system capable of automatically detecting and tracking both air and surface targets simultaneously. It is able to detect and track maneuvering and stealthy new threats as well as surface asymmetric threats. The paper describes the novelties of the ARTEMIS staring architecture and some of its technologies. It describes also the advantages offered by this new concept of electro-optical surveillance with full static sensor heads compared to existing and future solutions, and its capabilities to comply with future integrated masts standards. The paper concludes by a presentation of the product for the French Navy.