France Strikes Ship with Maritime Drone
The French Navy successfully tested a maritime strike drone, hitting a decommissioned ship during military exercises.
Admiral Nicolas Vaujour, Chief of Staff of the French Navy, released the footage of the test.
On April 26, off the coast of Toulon, a modified strike hydrocycle drone hit the hull of a decommissioned amphibious assault ship, causing damage and confirming its technical readiness.
The aim of the experiment was to confirm the French Navy’s ability to deploy maritime drones at sea. It is part of the larger Polaris initiative aimed at preparing the French fleet for modern threats.
“This experiment, which took place amid an increasingly unstable international situation, is part of the latest tests conducted by the French Navy to enhance the readiness of crews and ships for high-intensity combat operations,” Nicolas Vaujour stated.
For the safety of the tests and to minimize collateral damage, the French fleet prepared a decommissioned target ship, clearing it of contaminants, fuel, and other substances.
The ship was also fitted with an additional metal plate at the point of impact of the drone. However, as seen in the video, due to the drone’s difficult maneuverability, it missed the target and veered off to the side. This demonstrates that the prototype of the French system still has several issues that need to be addressed.
“The results and analysis of the experiment conducted on April 26 will allow us to improve remotely controlled maritime munitions, both in terms of deployment and guidance, as well as explosive materials,” stated the press service of the French Navy.
Meanwhile, a subsidiary of the French defense giant Naval Group, the company Sirehna, is already testing the prototype of its multipurpose maritime drone, Seaquest S, which was developed based on the experience gained from the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The 10-meter-long remotely controlled vessel has a high level of autonomy and is capable of performing missions lasting up to 24 hours.
The drone is designed as a versatile platform capable of carrying various payloads depending on the mission requirements, such as reconnaissance, electronic warfare, patrolling, anti-submarine warfare, or attacking surface vessels.
“One of the things we’ve learned is the development cycle in Ukraine, where they move from one version to another every six months. And this is not only because they are extremely fast, but also because the enemy is creating new defense systems,” said Pierre-Antoine Fliche, head of Unmanned Systems product lines at Naval Group. “That’s why we created SeaQuest as a highly modular platform and why we want to develop tactics for the machines in collaboration with end users, because we know that these tactics will evolve every six to nine months.”
