Interviewee: Pascal Babusiaux, Ηead of Ιnternational Relationships and Markets at IMPACT.

Role in PROTEAS project: PROTEAS Project Manager

Question: Please describe in a few words your position, background and role in the PROTEAS project.

Pascal Babusiaux: By enhancing the capabilities of various resources utilized in an operation, IMPACT, a French software development company, focuses on defense and security applications to provide a shared real-time situation awareness image. One of the primary users of IMPACT’s products are the French Special Forces Command.

My contribution to the project is to make sure that, in accordance with the objectives, IMPACT’s involvement appropriately meets the participants’ expectations and the project milestones. At IMPACT, I am in charge of international activities.

Question: Please describe in a few words the role of your entity in the PROTEAS project and the business goals you aim to achieve through the participation.

Pascal Babusiaux: Our specific role in PROTEAS is to provide a shared operational picture and situational awareness for a European Special Operation Forces task group. So, we lead the design of the system that has to be implemented in the command post. This involves a Command and Control (C2 – C4ISR) capability that allows tactical devices or other systems to be connected and to work ‘interoperably’. In this way, the friendly forces can communicate through messages, share tactical information in real time, and optimize their involvement. The technology we bring in PROTEAS is, among others, essential for operational success. Adapting to the existing systems and maintaining agility is at the heart of our core business. For example, interoperability with unmanned platforms, and the use of tactical data links are in our scope. We are accustomed to working with rapidly evolving technologies.

Our main task in PROTEAS is to adapt our software to work with our partners’ systems, for example sensors and communication systems. We coordinate with them to implement their interface specifications in our system, so that the complete system of systems offers more functional services in support of the operations, then we shall perform tests to ensure the proper transmission and display of data.

As an SME, a direct benefit of this project is to enhance our ability to operate effectively in an international environment and to learn how to collaborate on large-scale projects. The multinational consortium indeed involves a multiplicity of partners, with whom we are glad to establish a trusted relationship.

Question: Please describe in a few words the added-value presented by the envisaged PROTEAS outcomes and your view on their possible future adoption.

Pascal Babusiaux: PROTEAS is a great opportunity to show that a quite complex and ambitious project can lead to a quite easy to use solution. I fully trust that a solution similar to PROTEAS will be deployable in operations in the future, thanks to the collaboration between the consortium members, addressing the modern SOF needs.

Currently, European forces are working to strengthen their capabilities. In this rapidly evolving environment, I am confident that the PROTEAS collaborative partnership, is efficiently delivering a capability that augments the operational user and eases his action.