As high-intensity operations transform the needs of navies and challenge both the structure of fleets
and the technological capabilities of ships, Naval Group continues to develop innovations to address the
challenges of hybrid naval combat and envisions the rapid integration of these innovations into naval
solutions. From drones to the concept ship of a surface combattant, Naval Group reveals how the group
anticipate the future naval fleets.
Multi-domain strikes, saturation attacks, hypersonic ballistic missiles, swarms of drones, simultaneity of
attacks implying quick decision and reaction: the future of naval fleets combine mass, persistence, and the
ability to keep up with technological acceleration. To answer to these challenges, Naval Group is looking to
the future by drawing lessons from the present.
Our proposal entails the strengthening of our existing capabilities – by improving a system’s resilience,
developing new modes of operation powered by AI, complementing conventional systems with remote
sensors or effectors to extend their range – and the integration of innovations on the simultaneous use of
various technologies: AI and data analytics, information superiority provided by radar and sonar, cyber
capabilities, and the principle of fleet hybridization.
Drones have become essential to complete the conventional ships (surface ships and submarines) and
address the new challenges of naval combat. As the battles of tomorrow will be drone-intensive, connected
and collaborative, Naval Group designs and develops drone capabilities, including drone projection ships for
mine warfare and anti-submarine warfare, as well as key technological capabilities. Through our complete
range of drones, we aim at creating a fleet of interoperable drones, capable of sharing information in real
time and natively ready for combat. To do this, we focus on integrating drones into complete naval combat
systems (ships, submarines) with which they operate in synergy. Naval Group is accelerating its investments
in this area, developing and testing new capabilities, turning innovation into capability.
Thinking further, Naval Group has designed a concept ship, named SCX26, thought to address the challenges
of tomorrow’s naval warfare. This theoretical ship concept is a research project that brings together
responses to new operational requirements, lessons learnt from recent conflicts and medium to long-term
technological developments. The design of the SCX26 is based on tried-and-tested solutions, but also on
technological breakthroughs that are likely to become available in a few years’ time. The SCX 26 is designed
to be the operational hub of a hybrid fleet thanks to its ability to deploy quickly different types of drones to
carry on several missions (ISR, electronic warfare, ASW, protection, etc). with a capability to adapt its
configuration to mission requirements throughout its life cycle. Together with its own sensors and effectors,
this capability contributes to a more distributed approach to combat, in which the ship acts as part of a force
that brings together ships, aircraft, drones and future naval combat systems. This concept ship presents a
vision of the combat vessel as an evolving system of systems, able of utilising both its own capabilities and
those it deploys around it, always within a framework of collaborative combat.
