Euronaval 2024: French Navy Prioritizes Underwater Combat Capabilities with New UCUV Autonomous Naval Robot.

At Euronaval 2024, the French Ministry of Defense showcased a full-scale model of the Unmanned Combat Underwater Vehicle (UCUV), a powerful autonomous underwater combat system marking a new priority in the French Navy’s underwater capabilities. The development of the UCUV began with a framework agreement granted by the French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) to the French Company Naval Group on December 28, 2023. This initiative builds on Naval Group’s prior advancements, including the Demonstrator of Oceanic Drone (DDO), and aims to propel France’s underwater operational reach with a robust, fully autonomous combat drone.
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The Naval Group's Unmanned Combat Underwater Vehicle (UCUV) was showcased at the French Ministry of Defense booth during Euronaval 2024. (Picture source Army Recognition Group)

Operating in underwater environments where communication is restricted poses unique challenges. The UCUV (Unmanned Combat Underwater Vehicle) addresses these with sophisticated decision-making autonomy, enabling it to conduct missions that last several days without direct human control. This autonomy allows the UCUV to adapt to changing tactical situations, re-plan missions as needed, and manage any potential damage while remaining under the general guidance of human operators. This level of autonomous functionality represents a leap in underwater drone technology, as the UCUV can independently execute long-term, complex missions.

Naval Group’s DDO serves as a testing ground for the UCUV’s core technologies, ensuring readiness for a range of operational conditions in global waters. Designed to be deployable from docks or surface vessels and easily transportable by air, the UCUV is classified as an extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle (XL-UUV) due to its impressive specifications: over 10 meters in length and more than 10 tons in weight. France is asserting a prominent position in naval defense innovation by joining a select group of nations developing such large, sophisticated underwater combat drones.

The UCUV project aligns with France’s 2024–2030 Military Programming Law, prioritizing naval autonomy and underwater combat readiness breakthroughs. Built with a focus on stealth, endurance, and modularity, the UCUV offers multiple mission profiles. Key features include advanced AI-powered autonomy, cyber resilience, extended endurance, and the flexibility to evolve with mission demands. Engineered for combat, the UCUV can access contested zones, carry armaments, and be launched from land or sea platforms, maximizing its operational versatility.

Supported by leading French defense contractors, including Naval Group, Photospace, Exail, Thales, and Sirehna, the UCUV project harnesses a collaborative industrial effort to advance the French Navy’s underwater combat capabilities. With its unveiling at Euronaval 2024, the UCUV exemplifies France’s commitment to cutting-edge underwater combat technology, strengthening its naval capabilities and reinforcing its position as a leader in autonomous defense solutions for complex maritime environments.

Today, the importance of advanced combat-capable underwater robotic systems like the UCUV proliferates as naval threats evolve. With global tensions rising, underwater domains are becoming increasingly contested as adversaries seek to exploit the strategic advantages of stealth in these environments. Unmanned underwater combat systems offer an effective countermeasure to hostile submarines and other threats, providing a powerful means of securing territorial waters, protecting critical maritime routes, and ensuring freedom of navigation. Autonomous underwater vehicles like the UCUV allow for prolonged, stealthy surveillance and offensive operations in areas where manned vessels would be vulnerable or restricted by cost and logistical complexity.

Moreover, the adaptability of underwater drones to counter modern asymmetric threats, such as underwater mines and stealthy enemy submarines, highlights their strategic value. These robotic systems enhance force projection in denied areas, where human-operated submarines might face significant risk. The UCUV’s capabilities for autonomous navigation, self-repair, and cyber resilience ensure that it remains operational even in contested environments where electronic warfare, jamming, and other countermeasures are likely. As underwater threats grow more sophisticated, deploying advanced, autonomous underwater combat drones has become essential to maintaining a technological edge and safeguarding national security in critical maritime theaters.