The key facts
- French admirals warn: a navy that fails to adopt drones risks losing — “if you are too slow, you die”
- French admirals warn: a navy that fails to adopt drones risks defeat — 'if you are too slow, you die'
- Naval Group unveiled the 10-metre unmanned Seaquest with the Rampart system, which shoots down kamikaze drones with laser-guided missiles
- Euronaval gathered a record 700 companies — 70% more than in 2024
- Euronaval attracted a record 700 companies — 70% more than in 2024
“If you are too slow, you die”
Maritime drones, in the view of several admirals who have recently left the top ranks of the French Navy, are changing warfare at sea just as aerial drones changed warfare in the air. They gave interviews to The National on the eve of the Euronaval exhibition in Toulon, where, according to the publication, a record 700 companies gathered — 70% more than at the previous exhibition in 2024.
What exactly is being shown at Euronaval
Specific vessels are already close to deployment. Naval Group unveiled the 10-metre unmanned surface vessel Seaquest with the Rampart system: if a kamikaze drone is launched at a ship, it is shot down by 68mm laser-guided missiles; the vessel patrols waters ahead of or alongside cargo ships, with a range of up to 500 nautical miles (925 km) and a speed of up to 35 knots. A larger version, the Seaquest M, with missiles, guns and torpedoes, is also being developed. Exail offers the submarine-like Drix vessel for coastal reconnaissance: 14 knots, up to 10 days at sea and 1,852 km of range. There is also an underwater direction: manned submarines have received a system for launching drones through torpedo tubes, while the Unmanned Combat Underwater Vehicle can operate as a “mother ship” for torpedo-like drones that search for mines or conduct reconnaissance. A decoy drone was also shown, projecting a hologram of a warship to divert missiles towards a “ghost” image.
Why this matters for the Middle East
The admirals’ argument is tied to specific locations: conflicts in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea have shown how vulnerable maritime “choke points” are. Thierry Petit, a submariner and former commander of the first European mission in the Strait of Hormuz, believes underwater forces will become increasingly important for protecting shipping precisely in the shallows of the Arabian Sea, where surface ships are vulnerable: “Submarines are not targets; they can deploy their own drones.” Vice-Admiral Didier Maleterre, who previously commanded French forces in Abu Dhabi, speaks of a “fifth generation” of warfare in which crewed ships operate together with fleets of drones, and points out that Iran and Russia are “learning lessons from the war.” He also gave an example: after a drone swarm attack, the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group, in his estimation, shifted from 100 km off Iran to roughly 500 km further away — which, in his view, demonstrates the ability of a lower-tier fleet to threaten a higher-tier one.
Economics and scepticism
Officers around the Toulon base also cite a financial argument: running a manned frigate costs roughly €200,000 per day, whereas a drone requires no crew salaries and can stay at sea for a long time; for European countries with shrinking populations, this is also an answer to crew shortages. But Merveilleux du Vignaux himself, with 35 years of naval experience, warns against excessive enthusiasm: “the nature of the sea cannot be changed, it is very aggressive,” and he is distrustful of the idea of large unmanned platforms that can withstand storms — he considers mixed fleets with a strong human presence more workable. His concluding thesis: “Slowness makes me mortal… and international relations are deteriorating very quickly.”
