French Navy orders underwater drones for deep-sea surveillance

BREST, France — The French Navy has ordered an autonomous underwater vehicle from Exail that will surveil critical infrastructure at depths of up to 6,000 meters, the company announced.

The architecture of the new drone will be based on the firm’s Ulyx, a vehicle co-developed with Ifremer, the national institute for ocean science and technology. The platform will primarily be used to carry out reconnaissance operations across the seabed, covering sensitive infrastructure like submarine cables, many of which lie at a depth of 6,000 meters.

Ensuring the protection of those assets has proven increasingly difficult, even for major navies. NATO officials have warned that Russia could target undersea cables to disrupt Western activities.

A number of countries have followed closely the development of Moscow’s submarine fleet, as the country possesses the ability to cut cables on the ocean floor.

During a media visit to the FREMM Normandie frigate of the French Navy, organized here ahead of the Euronaval trade show in Paris next month, officers touched on the increased activity seen in recents years in the waters surrounding the Brest naval base, where the ship was stationed.

Last December, two French frigates, the Normandie and the Auvergne, followed closely a Russian submarine that was transiting off the coast of the Brittany town, according to French media.

The transit route is one that Russian submarines are reported to have taken in recent months to reach areas nearby Ireland.

France has identified the safeguard of its sovereignty of the seabed as a key priority in the French investment plan for 2030.

As part of the capability-building process set out in the Ministerial Strategy for Seabed Warfare, adopted in 2022, the French Navy will buy autonomous as well as remote-controlled undersea vehicles

For the latter category, officials selected French vendor Travocean with its DeepSea vehicle.

The new underwater drone will incorporate several made-in-France components designed by Exail, including acoustics sensors and the Phins inertial navigation system.

An Exail representative declined to say when the delivery of the AUV would be, saying only that it would be before 2030.