Naval Group unveils new drone carrier concept

The new drone carrier concept SCX 26 (Credit: Naval Group).

PARIS — French shipbuilder Naval Group has unveiled an 8,000-ton drone carrier concept designed to deploy fleets of surface, aerial and underwater drones .

“The return of high-intensity conflict and the emergence of hybrid naval warfare require a new vision. Naval Group answers with a new concept ship: SCX 26,” Naval Group wrote in a Tuesday post on X.

Still in its blueprint stage, the company unveiled its concept at the Euronaval defense show in Paris. Naval Group said in a press release that it developed the carrier based on new operational requirements, lessons learned from recent wars, and medium- to long-term technological advancements.

The idea is for the carrier to be what the French group calls an “operational hub of a hybrid fleet,” able to launch a variety of drones for missions ranging from intelligence gathering to anti-submarine warfare.

According to the theoretical capabilities outlined, the ship would measure 170 meters in length and weigh 8,000 tons, with a crew of 150. The carrier is expected to reach a maximum of 30 knots and roam the seas for more than 8,000 nautical miles. Naval Group plans for the ship’s core onboard weapon to be composed of “over 100 vertical launching system silos of various classes and an electromagnetic gun capable of rapid fire.”

Separately , the French shipbuilder on Tuesday also signed a contract with the French Armament General Directorate (DGA) to begin manufacturing an unmanned combat underwater vehicle (UCUV) demonstrator intended for the French Navy.

While the project was officially launched in 2023, Naval Group since 2016 has self-funded the development of this extra-large underwater drone. During a nine-month study in 2023, the company said it tested Controlled Decision-Making Autonomy, an “onboard brain” algorithm that coordinates mission parameters and enables unmanned systems to autonomously execute challenging operations while adhering to human-defined mission boundaries.

The UCUV demonstrator’s first sea testing is slotted for 2028 to “validate a mid-term operational response” to new areas of conflict, Naval Group said.

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新型无人机航母概念 SCX 26（图片来源：海军集团）。

巴黎——法国造船企业海军集团推出了一款8000吨级的无人机航母概念，旨在部署水面、空中和水下无人机群。

“高强度冲突的回归和混合海战的出现需要一种新的愿景。法国海军集团以一款新的概念舰艇——SCX 26——来回应这一需求，”法国海军集团在周二发表于 X 杂志的一篇文章中写道。

该航母仍处于设计阶段，该公司在巴黎举行的欧洲海军防务展上公布了其概念。法国海军集团在一份新闻稿中表示，该航母的研发基于新的作战需求、近期战争的经验教训以及中长期技术进步​​。

该集团的想法是让这艘航母成为他们所谓的“混合舰队的作战中心”，能够发射各种无人机执行从情报收集到反潜作战等任务。

根据理论设想，该舰长170米，排水量8000吨，舰员150人。预计该航母最高航速可达30节，续航力超过8000海里。法国海军集团计划该舰的核心舰载武器系统由“100多个不同级别的垂直发射系统发射井以及一门能够速射的电磁炮”组成。

此外，这家法国造船厂周二还与法国军备总局 (DGA) 签署了一份合同，开始为法国海军制造无人作战水下航行器 (UCUV) 演示器。

虽然该项目于2023年正式启动，但法国海军集团自2016年以来一直在自筹资金研发这款超大型水下无人机。该公司表示，在2023年为期九个月的研究中，他们测试了“受控决策自主性”（Controlled Decision-Making Autonomy，简称CDO），这是一种“机载大脑”算法，能够协调任务参数，使无人系统能够在遵守人为设定的任务边界的前提下，自主执行高难度操作。

海军集团表示，UCUV演示器的首次海上测试定于2028年进行，目的是“验证对新冲突地区的中期作战响应”。

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