Naval Group pitches autonomous systems as key to underwater operations
According to Aymeric Moullart de Torcy, a former French Navy commander now handling unmanned systems marketing at Naval Group, deploying fully autonomous underwater systems is crucial for maintaining a strategic advantage in naval operations. Speaking at the UMEX trade show in the United Arab Emirates, de Torcy emphasized that achieving full autonomy, independent of data links, is essential to fully exploit the potential of the underwater domain. He pointed out that Ukraine, despite utilizing cheap and accessible drones effectively, has not yet embraced full autonomy in its underwater operations. De Torcy highlighted the challenges in creating unmanned underwater platforms, including takeoff and retrieval difficulties, and emphasized the importance of investing in developing capabilities and experience for success in the underwater world. While Naval Group recently won a contract to design an unmanned combat underwater vehicle, de Torcy stressed that unmanned technology complements crewed assets, highlighting the significance of manned-unmanned teaming in high-end naval operations.