Exail's A6K-M AUV is based on the architecture of Ulyx – the AUV co-developed by Exail and Ifremer. (TravOcean)
The French Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) has awarded two contracts for the development of an ultra-deep autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) as part of efforts to advance the French Navy's deep sea underwater capabilities.
Under the contracts awarded on 27 September and announced by the DGA on 2 October, French companies Exail and TravOcean have been selected to develop an AUV and ROV respectively that will be capable of operating down to depths of 6,000 m.
The two systems, which are planned to be operational by 2026, will constitute the first deep-sea capability of the French Navy. They will be used for a wide range of missions, including reconnaissance and surveillance of the seabed and on critical underwater infrastructure such as submarine cables.
The acquisitions form part of the France 2030 investment plan and the strategy for seabed warfare published by the Ministry of the Armed Forces in February 2022, which specified a requirement to achieve capacity to operate to depths of 6,000 m by 2026. The strategy outlines three components required to control the seabed – to know (improve knowledge of the environment), to monitor, and to take action. The AUV will be dedicated to the first two components, and the ROV to the third.
The AUV to be developed by Exail will be a militarised version of the Ulyx AUV that was co-developed by Exail and the French National Institute for Ocean Science and Technology (Ifremer), which conducted its first dives down to 6,000 m during the third quarter of 2023.
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