The pictures were taken by local ship spotter Hervé Dermoune on 13 September 2023. They show the XLUUV surfaced with its sensor mast raised. Several support craft surround the uncrewed submarine.
Contacted by Naval News, Naval Group confirmed that the XLUUV started last week the “industrial qualification trials phase”. A press release issued by the French shipbuilder back in June 2023 reads: “This demonstrator will be qualified at sea in the summer of 2023, which will enable the company to test various technological bricks in a short cycle. Among the unique capabilities developed by Naval Group and its partners is the Controlled Decision-Making Autonomy (ADC®), designed to be the onboard brain for drones, while offering sailors the ability to supervise all unmanned systems in complete safety, and to plan and carry out complex missions, as a complement to manned ships.”
In other words, the demonstrator platform will be used to develop and test the autonomy software for a future uncrewed XLUUV.
On 4 May 2023, the French defence procurement agency (DGA) awarded Naval Group a new contract to study the design of such a drone known as UCUV (for Unmanned Combat Underwater Vehicle).
Naval Group’s XLUUV demonstrator was first unveiled in October 2021. It was initially designed with Naval Group’s own fund. It was launched in secret in Southern France in November 2020. The UUV has a length of 10 meters (which can be scaled up to 25 meters by placing additional batteries or propulsion systems such as an AIP). Its current displacement is 10 tons.
Cyril Levy, Head of UxV & MCM Business Line at Naval Group, confirmed confirmed to Naval News during the unveiling event that future missions may include mine counter measure (MCM) or anti-submarine warfare (ASW) as the company’s F21 heavy weight torpedo (HWT) can fit in the XLUUV weapons bay. Naval News understands that the drone could also conduct offensive mine warfare operations as a Naval Group animation video showed the XLUUV deploying mine-like objects on the seabed. Deploying undersea mines is the primary mission of the U.S. Navy’s ORCA XLUUV project.
With DGA “getting onboard” Naval Group’s XLUUV project, the French military is joining a growing (but still limited) club of nations investing in the capability. This year alone Naval News covered new XLUUV projects from China, Japan, India, Germany, Israel and South Korea.
Here is our video coverage of the unveiling of Naval Group’s XLUUV project:
