Naval Group’s XL-UUV prototype will undergo testing as part of French Navy experimentation around a long endurance UCUV (Naval Group)
BELFAST — The French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) has issued Naval Group with a framework agreement for the design, production and testing of an Unmanned Combat Underwater Vehicle (UCUV) demonstrator, based on the shipbuilder’s XL-UUV (Extra-Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicle) prototype.
The French manufacturer announced the contract on Tuesday but added that it was originally signed off in December 2023. No contract value was disclosed.
In a translated statement, published Tuesday, the French Armed Forces confirmed that it wants to assess a long-endurance platform measuring more than 10 meters (33 feet) in length and weighing more than 10 tonnes (11 tons), while the framework agreement “should allow” for technology development related to autonomy, energy, sensor integration and autonomous processing capabilities.
It added that work falling under the framework agreement will first concern autonomous decision-making and safe navigation.
The latest agreement follows Naval Group receiving a contract in May 2023 to assess UCUV use cases and system architecture.
RELATED: DIU seeks small USV interceptors ready for rapid production
For testing and integration purposes, the company plans on using its XL-UUV demonstrator, which completed sea qualification at the end of 2023. The platform will allow “short-cycle evaluation” of key technologies “needed to confirm the technical choices linked to the design of the future UCUV demonstrator,” added the manufacturer.
“This innovative method will provide agile guidance for the project, enabling the UCUV demonstrator to be built within the defined budget and schedule,” the company said.
Additionally, a first follow-on contract, running over two years, has also been awarded to Naval Group for the design and development of its Autonomous Decision-Making Process (ADMP) and secure autonomous navigation.
The new contract “will enable the development of a version of the Autonomous Decision-Making Process…designed to strengthen mission planning and monitoring, and secure surface and underwater navigation which are essential functions for an autonomous, enduring, multi-mission system,” noted the shipbuilder.
Future follow-on contracts are planned to support technology development of “long endurance, underwater detection and sub-order implementation” capabilities.
“Through this project, the French Ministry of Armed Forces will benefit from technological breakthroughs and innovations in the fields of robotics, drones and artificial intelligence, in order to evaluate a new naval capability that could provide a medium-term operational response to new areas of conflict and asymmetric combat,” according to Naval Group.
Modernizing our supply chain is a national security imperative
Closing supply chain gaps in innovating technology will reposition the industrial base to be a strategic source of value.
New details emerge of Russia’s potential nuclear space weapon
“The United States has been aware of Russia’s pursuit of this sort of capability dating back years, but only recently have we been able to make a more precise assessment of their progress,” said Mallory Stewart, State Department assistant secretary for the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability.
