French admirals predict drone revolution beneath the waves

Drones have changed the face of war in the air and a revolution at sea is speeding up, with the potential to make a dramatic impact on the waterways of the Middle East.

A host of drones are being rapidly developed, tested and deployed that will radically change how warfare is conducted at sea and could offer a significant benefit for the Gulf’s defences.

While many western navies are trying to keep pace with the changes, the French naval industry is powering ahead, using state-subsidised and private companies to develop new ideas.

The “dronisation” of naval warfare is happening above, on and below the waves, with a series of craft nearing operational deployment.

Show caption: Naval Group's unmanned Sequest ship. Thomas Harding / The Na…

Most importantly, French admirals have told The National, modern navies must embrace drones before their enemies do, or risk defeat.

“If you're too slow, you die,” said retired rear admiral Guillaume Merveilleux du Vignaux. “If drone development changes again, you can still face it if you are moving but if you don't move, you die. That's why we need to change … it is becoming existential, because others are not waiting and others are not our friends.”

It is a view echoed by others who have recently left the senior echelon of the Marine Nationale, with navies entering the “fifth generation” of warfare, in which crewed warships will sail alongside fleets of drone warships and submarines, said Vice Adm Didier Maleterre.

This “hybrid fleet” will prove helpful because “the strategic context has changed dramatically with shipping chokepoints threatened”, he said.

The subject is receiving attention with a record number 700 companies at the French flagship Euronaval exhibition starting this week, a 70 per increase on the previous event in 2024.

Show caption: Retired rear admiral Guillaume Merveilleux du Vignaux. Thoma…

Drone navies assemble

Maritime chokepoints, highlighted by conflicts in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, present a huge challenge to naval planners, but the unmanned craft in production could help.

Naval Group's 10-metre Seaquest uncrewed surface vessel (USV), equipped with a pod containing the Rampart air defence and surface attack system, can patrol waters ahead of or alongside cargo vessels, using its surveillance system to detect threats while controlled by the Steeris mission system.

If an enemy kamikaze drone is launched at a ship, the drone's Rampart 68mm laser-guided missiles are capable of bringing it down, while fast attack boats can face a similar barrage on the surface. It has a range of up to 500 nautical miles (925km) and a top speed of 35 knots (about 65kph).

Bigger versions are being developed that are approaching the realms of unmanned warships, including the Seaquest M, which has armaments ranging from missiles and guns to torpedoes.

Show caption: A unmanned Seaquest medium-sized warship. Thomas Harding / T…

Reconnaissance is key in coastal waters, and the slender, submarine-like Drix has been designed by Exail to zip through the sea at 14 knots (about 26kph), sending back sonar data and surveillance footage of both coastal areas and surface threats. It can stay at sea for 10 days, travelling 1,852km.

Manned submarines have also developed a system allowing drones to be launched through their torpedo tubes to the surface, where they take off into the air, providing surveillance footage and the ability to attack.

But uncrewed submarines are also making serious progress. The Unmanned Combat Underwater Vehicle can act as a mothership, sending out the torpedo-like drones that seek out mines or spy from under the waves.

Unmanned vehicles can also provide another level of protection, with a decoy drone able to fly close to a warship and then beam down a hologram of it, designed to lure missiles towards the ghost image.

Move fast

Former submariner Thierry Petit underscored the vital future role of subsurface warfare in places such as the shallower depths of the Arabian Sea, where operating on the surface can invite trouble.

“Submarines will play an increasingly important role in protecting shipping because they are not targets, they can deploy their own drone systems,” said the former commander of the first European mission in the Strait of Hormuz.

Navies, explains former French Middle East commander Maleterre, have to move quickly “because our computers are moving very fast” and hostile states such as Iran and Russia are “drawing on lessons learnt in war”.

Show caption: Didier Maleterre commanded French forces in Abu Dhabi. Thoma…

The naval officer, who commanded French forces in Abu Dhabi, also highlighted the threat to surface vessels, which will struggle to evade detection from Starlink-like constellations and very fast anti-ship ballistic missiles such as the Kinzhal “carrier-killer” anti-ship weapon.

He suggested this might explain why the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier battle group moved from about 100km off Iran to around 500km further out, after it apparently came under drone swarm attack.

This again demonstrated the ability of a lower-tier navy – one with barely any warships left afloat – to seriously threaten a top-tier fleet.

No salaries with drones

There are other advantages with an unmanned fleet. During a week The National spent examining developments around the Toulon naval base, officers highlighted the high cost of deploying a manned frigate, about €200,000 a day, compared with the low cost of a drone, which requires no salary and can stay at sea for long periods.

There is also the issue of dwindling populations in Europe, where several nations are struggling to crew their ships.

But, warned retired vice admiral Merveilleux du Vignaux, sailors should not get too carried away about drones, speaking from the experience of 35 years absorbing the battering of the high seas.

Show caption: The Rampart air and sea defence system that will be mounted …

“Drones can be part of the answer definitely but the reality is the nature of the sea, you can't change it, it’s very abrasive.”

The idea that big unmanned platforms can endure in rough seas stretches credulity, he argued, whereas mixed navies that have a strong human presence working with robots could work well.

“Drones can go in areas where you don't want to go, can multiply your eyes and ears by sending them everywhere and your fists too if you want to hit.”

Navies must change and adapt and at speed, he insists. “Slowness makes me mortal … and international relationships are degrading at a very high pace,” he warned.