The French Navy evaluated Naval Group’s modular Rampart multi-purpose launching system for the first time at sea aboard an LHD during the WILDFIRE 26.2 counter-drone exercise.
The French Navy (Marine nationale) has completed the sixth edition of its advanced counter-drone exercise, WILDFIRE 26.2, held off the coast of Toulon from September 28 to October 2, 2026. Organized by the Force d’Action Navale (FAN) training division, the intensive week-long exercise focused on countering aerial and surface drone threats in realistic operational environments, such as critical maritime choke points.
WILDFIRE 26.2 brought together six naval vessels—including a FREMM DA air-defense frigates, a Chevallier-class supply vessel, a La Fayette-class frigate, the two Horizon type Air Defense destroyers, and, for the first time, a Mistral-class LHD. They were supported by naval aviation assets, including Rafale Marine fighters, an Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft, and various helicopters, alongside simulated drone threats orchestrated by DGA Missile Tests from the Levant Island.
First At-Sea Trials for Naval Group’s Rampart System
A major milestone during WILDFIRE 26.2 was the very first at-sea test campaign of Naval Group’s Rampart multi-purpose modular launching system, conducted aboard the LHD.
Designed to act as a close-in weapon system (CIWS), Rampart stands out for its high modularity, allowing it to host a wide variety of payloads depending on operational needs. These include unguided rockets, guided rockets, very short-range surface-to-air missiles, and short-range surface-to-surface missiles.
During the live-fire trials witnessed by Naval News, the crew and Naval Group engineers engaged targets using multiple configurations:
- A salvo of 68mm unguided rockets by Thales fired against a surface target (Tomato killer).
- A 68mm guided rocket by Thales fired against a target UAV to evaluate its counter-UAV interception capabilities.
A Polish Piorun missile was also present in one of the four modules of the Rampart launcher. While the VSHORAD missile wasn’t fired (it wasn’t the plan for this maiden at-sea trial) the seeker of the missile was active and locked on the target UAV.
Expanding Future Trials
The deployment during WILDFIRE 26.2 allowed Naval Group to advance the development of the Rampart system under realistic conditions. Following this successful maiden sea trial, further international test campaigns are already on the horizon. These will include trials in the United Arab Emirates using Edge Group’s Sky Knight missile system, as well as tests scheduled in Belgium next year utilizing 70 mm rockets developed by Thales Belgium.
As modern naval warfare increasingly demands robust defenses against asymmetric drone swarms—particularly in contested choke points like the Red Sea—systems like Rampart represent a flexible, rapidly deployable layer of protection for modern surface fleets.
