École Nationale Supérieure de
Techniques Avancées

Abstract

This report has been written as part of the completion of my work-study program at ENSTA Paris. For the past two years, I have been working within Arquus’ weapon systems design office, where I held the role of system architect. During my first year, I mainly focused on understanding and analyzing the remote control weapon system, integrated into the GRIFFON and SERVAL vehicles as part of the SCORPION program. Already partially deployed within the armed forces, this system had entered its production phase and was therefore subject to continuous improvement and possible upgrades, either requested by the client or initiated internally by Arquus. At the end of this first year, the design office was assigned a new project: integrating a ring mount, a manually operated weapon system, onto a tanker vehicle. Leading this project became the core of my second year, and it is the main focus of this report. The purpose of this report is not only to present the project and its technical challenges, but also to shed light on the specific features of defense-related programs. This project was fully in line with the Complex Systems Engineering curriculum delivered at ENSTA Paris, which trains students to work with a wide variety of stakeholders, from the early stages of development to the validation of a complex system. Accordingly, I will present not only the technical aspects of the project but also the numerous project management constraints I faced: budget, schedule, performance, contractual commitments, and customer requirements. These dimensions are central to the role of a systems engineer in the defense industry.