Cutlass Express (CE19) was the first and timely opportunity for IORIS to be used on a regional scale (Indian Ocean wide) during a maritime exercise.
Cutlass Express is an annual maritime exercise sponsored and conducted by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). The nine-day exercise, kicked off in Pemba (Mozambique), Djibouti and Victoria (Seychelles) on Jan. 28 and included an in-port preparatory phase, four days of pier side and underway visit, board, search and seizure drills, as well as various workshops.
For the first time, the IORIS platform was used as primary communication tool between land-based assets but also with a ship (French patrol ship Le Malin); IORIS successfully demonstrated its flexibility and adequacy for such large scale exercises.
Over 50 users participated from 5 partner nations (Djibouti, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique and Seychelles). Over 17 dedicated areas were created, 6 of which were part of the Livex.
The utilisation of IORIS is a success: the general design and performances meet the requirements of such an exercise, and IORIS is on a good track. The collaboration with SPAWAR/SEAVISION was excellent and both applications show their pertinence and complementarity.
Further developments are foreseen to include the return of experience of this exercise from users; the IORIS updated version will be delivered by the end of 2019.