France, world champion of drones? The sentence would be enough to make you smile in the air segment, where the enormous French delay compared to the United States, Israel and Turkey is only just beginning to be reduced. It appears much less out of step in the naval drone segment, a market which is expected to triple in size by 2030, from 6.9 billion dollars in 2023 to 8.9 billion in 2030 according to PwC. “It is today that the global battle for naval drones is being played out, and France has solid arguments”assured last month to Challenges Raphaël Gorgé, boss of the French ETI Exail.
In fact, as shown by the Euronaval exhibition (from Monday 4 to Thursday 7 November in Villepinte), the major biannual naval defense rally, the French industry appears more solidly armed than one might believe. It can notably rely on a dense ecosystem of SMEs, ETIs and start-ups which hold their own against American competitors. In the surface drone segment, the ETI Exail, resulting from the merger of ECA and iXblue, is one of the world leaders, with its range of Drix drones, sold in around thirty units (100% at 'export). The Gironde shipyard Couach, based in Gujan-Mestras, is developing, with its own funds, a 6-meter surface drone, the Magellan, which it is currently testing at sea. “The composite structure is unique in the world, we already have very interested prospects”assures Yann Huort, head of the group's European business development.
Exail in the big leagues
French positions are even stronger in the underwater drone segment, which is expected to represent two-thirds of the market in 2030, or $14.1 billion. Exail has between 70 and 80% market share on the installed base of drones dedicated to mine warfare (fight against naval mines). The ETI is also one of the rare players, with the Americans Teledyne, Hydroid and the Norwegian Kongsberg, to know how to develop machines capable of descending into the deep seabed (up to 6,000 m deep). Exail, which had already developed the Ulyx drone for Ifremer, was selected at the end of September by the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA), to develop the future drones ” deep sea » of the French Navy. Called A6K-M, it will enter service in 2026.
Exail's A6K-M underwater drone, capable of descending to a depth of 6,000 m, will be delivered to the French Navy in 2026. Credit: Vincent Lamigeon / Challenges
The Breton SME RTSys (10 million euros turnover, 80% of which is export) is another French champion of underwater robots, particularly for mine warfare, surveillance and scientific research. It plans to double in size by 2026 and wants to open a new factory in Lanester, near Lorient.
Alseamar, gem of “underwater gliders”
France also has nuggets in ultra-technological niche segments. Alseamar, a subsidiary of the Alcen group, is developing an underwater glider, called SeaExplorer, marketed since 2014 and 120 units sold. These machines have the particularity, unlike underwater drones, of not being motorized. They move autonomously by modifying their density thanks to a ballast system, which they fill to dive, and empty to return to the surface, and transmit the collected data.
The SeaExplorer 1000 underwater glider, developed by the French company Alseamar. Credit: Vincent Lamigeon / Challenges
The group, which makes the majority of its sales of gliders in the civil segment (hydrography, etc.), presented at Euronaval a device specifically developed for defense, the SeaExplorer 1000, capable of descending to a depth of 1,250 m and remaining there. water for more than three months. “The advantage of this technology is discretion: these devices have no acoustic signature, and are therefore undetectable”explains Harry Marti, sales manager at Alseamar. Based in Rousset (Bouches-du-Rhône), the group is number two in the world in this market, behind the American Teledyne.
Underwater drone swarms
France can also count on a very promising player in naval drone swarms, the SME Arkeocean, based in Vannes (Morbihan). Originally specializing in underwater archaeology, this family company develops small underwater drones capable of acting in swarms. “We are capable of deploying a swarm of 200 drones, which is unique in the worldassures Thierry Brizard, president of Arkeocean, formerly of Thales. We also recently signed a contract to develop and manufacture several thousand drones with a civilian client, specializing in geophysical prospecting. »
Arkeocean is one of the world leaders in underwater drones capable of operating in swarms. Credit: Vincent Lamigeon / Challenges
On the military side, a first contract with the Defense Innovation Agency (AID) made it possible to test Arkocean drones in 2022 and 2023 for surveillance missions. The swarm of underwater drones was deployed as a sort of large antenna, each drone drifting at a distance from the others to maximize the area covered: machines called Inca recorded the acoustic field; other vehicles, says Maya, “ were foraging » the information collected and returned to the surface to transmit it by radio or satellite. Another test, organized in 2023 as part of the Orion exercise, successfully simulated the destruction of a warship by a swarm of drones, Gotors, developed by Arkeocean.
Naval Group ocean drone
The giant Naval Group is also accelerating in the naval drone segment. Since November 2020, the French group has been testing a 10 m long and 10 ton ocean underwater drone demonstrator, the DGA of which is financing the continuation of the work via a program called UCUV (Unmanned Combat Underwater Vehicle). “The objective is to have a machine that goes far, stays in the area for a long time, and remains undetectablesummarizes Emmanuel Chiva, general delegate for armaments. This kind of technology is not a mass sport: the Americans are working on the Orca drone, which is much larger, but they are doing a bit of “stop and go” on this program. As for the Ghost Shark sold by the American Anduril to Australia, it is a much smaller machine.
Naval Group is also tackling the surface drone segment. It presented at the Euronaval show a new 10 m machine, the Seaquest S, developed by its subsidiary Sirehna in partnership with the Couach shipyard. Deployable by a manned vessel, this drone is the first in a new range of surface vehicles which will also include the Seaquest M (15 to 50 m) and the Seaquest L (more than 50 m).
The Achilles heel: a lack of funding for the Armed Forces
To develop and manufacture these machines, the French group will open one of the most modern naval drone factories in the world by 2027, in La-Londe-les-Maures (Var), on a site of the former DCN. remained disused for decades. This factory, which will also manufacture the torpedoes currently assembled in Gassin, near Saint-Tropez, will have the advantage of having direct access to the sea for testing the devices.
France's only weak point in the naval drone segment, and it is significant, is the weakness of the investments made so far by the Ministry of the Armed Forces on the subject. Only around twenty million euros has so far been earmarked for the “ control of the seabed » (drones and underwater robots). As for the “ deep seabed » of the France 2030 plan, it provides for an investment of 280 million euros over ten years. Probably insufficient to play leading roles.
