France tasks Naval Group to develop large oceangoing underwater drone

PARIS — France signed a contract with shipbuilder Naval Group to develop an operational demonstrator of a large-sized oceangoing underwater drone, with sea trials to start in 2028.

The demonstrator of the uncrewed combat underwater vehicle, or UCUV, will have to show both endurance and autonomous decision-making capability, the French Armed Forces ministry said late Tuesday. The vehicle will be capable of carrying out missions ranging from intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance to “more offensive neutralization actions,” the ministry said.

For the French Navy, a plus-sized oceangoing autonomous underwater vehicle could offer a way to extend its presence across the country’s vast maritime space. France has the world’s second-largest exclusive economic zone behind the United States, with about 11 million square kilometers spread across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans.

“In the face of intensifying competition for underwater domains and threats weighing on critical infrastructure, the start of development of the UCUV demonstrator is a strong marker of the French Navy’s determination to establish its technological and tactical superiority,” the ministry said.

“France thus joins the very select group of nations engaged in the definition and development of a large-sized unmanned underwater vehicle capability.”

The U.S. Navy has been working with Boeing to develop the Orca uncrewed underwater vehicle, while the United Kingdom last month said it fired a heavy torpedo from an extra-large uncrewed underwater vessel for the first time. Australia in September said it was buying a fleet of Ghost Shark extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicles from Anduril for A$1.7 billion (US$1.2 billion).

The agreement between France’s Defense Innovation Agency and Naval Group follows an initial market study started in 2023 with the Directorate General for Armament, the ministry said. The demonstrator must be air transportable, and able to be deployed from a pier or a surface vehicle, it said.

Naval Group has previously developed a 10-ton ocean-going drone demonstrator using its own money, and the yard’s self-funded work allowed for rapid evaluation of the technology required for the UCUV project, the ministry said. France in January 2024 said it ordered a technological demonstrator based on the prototype to test energy autonomy, sensor integration and autonomous operation.

The future ocean-going demonstrator will be equipped with a “controlled autonomous decision-making system” that will allow the underwater drone to adapt to tactical situations, the environment and potential breakdowns, either by itself or in collaboration with other systems, the ministry said.

France’s 2026 defense budget allocated €30 million in commitment authorizations and €17 million in payment appropriations for an ocean-going underwater drone demonstrator. The country’s 2024-2030 defense programming law including €5 billion for drones and robots over the seven-year period, including underwater drones.

The sea trials will validate the technological choices for the demonstrator as well as provide a better understanding of the operational response to new forms of naval combat, the ministry said.