France’s Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) awarded Naval Group a contract to build a demonstrator of an unmanned underwater combat vehicle. The French Armed Forces Ministry is seeking a long-endurance demonstrator with a length of more than 10 meters (33 feet) and weighing more than 10 metric tons. The drone will have the capacity to be armed, though design specifics will need to be worked out, Naval Group spokesperson Faïza Zaroual told Defense News.
The project will allow France “to evaluate a new naval capability that could provide a medium-term operational response to new areas of conflict and asymmetric combat,” Naval Group said. European navies are increasingly vigilant about seabed threats since the 2022 attack on the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea.
France has budgeted €5 billion ($5.4 billion) for drones in its 2024-2030 military spending plans, including for autonomous underwater vehicles. The French Navy has been testing underwater drones since 2021, including the Hugin offered by Kongsberg and Exail’s seabed mapping drone A18D. Naval Group said it has built up know-how in naval unmanned systems over the past decade.
