Exail wins DGA contract for new Drix USV experimentation

The French Ministry of Defence’s Direction Générale De l’Armement (DGA) has awarded maritime autonomy specialist Exail a €0.5 million contract as part of the future hydrographic and oceanographic capability (CHOF) program for the French Navy.

The contract will see Exail extend the capabilities of its DriK hydrographic Unmanned Surface Vessel in underwater inspection and mapping. This new experiment aims to validate the drone’s performance observed during previous trials carried out in the Bay of Biscay near Brest in late 2020. The planning of complex missions, as well as the quality of hydrographic surveys and data processing are among the functionalities expected of this latest generation drone.

This six-month contract is also an opportunity for the DGA to further study an optimised means of launching and recovering the drone, in order to have a complete solution adapted to the needs for its implementation. This study is being followed by the DGA Project Engineering and DGA Naval Engineering expertise and test centers.

The experiment is scheduled to take place on the hydrographic and oceanographic vessel ‘Beautemps-Beaupré’ in February 2023 in the Mediterranean Sea, in collaboration with the French Navy’s hydrographic and oceanographic service.

The experiments with surface, underwater and aerial drones carried out during the preparation phase of the CHOF program are intended to identify the most appropriate and efficient means of surveying to meet hydrographic survey needs.

The previous DriX experiment in October 2020 allowed bathymetric surveys to be carried out at different depths, reaching nearly 200m in the Ushant Trough, slightly further north. The aim was to evaluate its added value compared with the launches and hydrographic vessels currently in service and to understand its potential use for the CHOF program. In particular, the deployment of two USVs in collaborative mode was tested.

Exail is bidding to provide an autonomous Mine Countermeasures (MCM) system to the RAN under Project SEA 1905.