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.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

法国布雷斯特——Exail公司宣布，法国海军已向该公司订购了一款自主水下航行器，该航行器将在水下6000米深处监视关键基础设施。

这款新型无人机的架构将基于该公司与法国国家海洋科学与技术研究院（Ifremer）联合开发的Ulyx无人机。该平台将主要用于海底侦察作业，覆盖海底电缆等敏感基础设施，其中许多电缆位于水下6000米深处。

即使对于主要海军而言，确保这些资产的安全也变得越来越困难。北约官员警告称，俄罗斯可能会以海底电缆为目标，干扰西方的活动。

许多国家密切关注着莫斯科潜艇舰队的发展，因为俄罗斯拥有切断海底电缆的能力。

在下个月巴黎欧洲海军展之前，法国海军组织了一次媒体参观“诺曼底”号护卫舰的活动。军官们谈到了近年来在布雷斯特海军基地（该舰驻扎于此）周围水域日益活跃的情况。

据法国媒体报道，去年12月，两艘法国护卫舰“诺曼底”号和“奥弗涅”号紧随一艘在布列塔尼小镇海岸附近航行的俄罗斯潜艇。

据报道，俄罗斯潜艇近几个月来曾利用这条过境路线抵达爱尔兰附近海域。

法国已将维护其对海底的主权列为2030年法国投资计划中的一项关键优先事项。

作为2022年通过的《海底作战部长级战略》中规定的能力建设进程的一部分，法国海军将采购自主式和遥控式水下航行器。

对于后一类设备，官员们选择了法国供应商 Travocean 及其 DeepSea 设备。

这款新型水下无人机将采用Exail公司设计的多个法国制造的组件，包括声学传感器和Phins惯性导航系统。

Exail 的一位代表拒绝透露 AUV 的交付时间，只表示会在 2030 年之前交付。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。