Naval Defense in Polar Environments

Institute, Research Brest Defense and Security

On Tuesday, May 18, ENSTA hosted the “Brest sur le Pont” event at its Brest campus, organized by Brest Métropole and the Pôle Mer Bretagne Atlantique as part of the celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of the French Navy. The event brought together numerous experts, researchers, and industry representatives and concluded with a presentation of ENSTA’s research activities and facilities.

A conference dedicated to defense challenges in polar environments

Moderated by Margot Provost, Deputy Director of Research and Innovation at ENSTA, the conference focused on the context and framework of public policies, featuring:

  • A focus on recent national public policies presented by François Trystram, Head of the “Operations” Division at CECLANT
  • A presentation of national scientific and research priorities by Anne Buchon of the AID,
  • A mapping of the region’s research activities and expertise by Laurent Chauvaud, CNRS/UBO Research Director at the LEMAR laboratory of the IUEM
  • The legal framework impacting defense activities and technological solutions by Anne Choquet, Lecturer and Researcher in Law, member of the French National Committee for Arctic and Antarctic Research (CNFRAA)

The second part of the roundtable provided feedback and testimonials on activities conducted in polar environments by CECLANT. Lionel Lapierre, a faculty member and researcher at ENSTA, Lab-Sticc laboratory, presented the major challenges of robotics in these extreme environments. Finally, CLS and Exail Brest spoke about their activities (satellite technologies; challenges of positioning at high latitudes).

Behind the scenes of research: a tour of the ENSTA laboratories

Next, visitors were invited to explore the research activities conducted on campus:

At the Department of Mechanical Engineering: a presentation of the IRDL laboratory and examples of projects focusing on material behavior and durability, assembly methods, pyrotechnics... and an exploration of the testing facilities housed within Masmeca

At the Department of Computer Science and System Engineering: presentation of various research topics conducted within the Lab-STICC in hydrography, acoustics, quantum physics, robotics... including equipment demonstrations.

This “Brest sur le Pont” event highlighted the importance of Brittany’s leading role in defense research and innovation. With its two campuses, ENSTA has established itself as a key player in national sovereignty through its research and training activities in strategic sectors: transportation and mobility, sustainable energy, defense & security, maritime, digital technology, and health engineering.

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