(AOF) – The Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) has notified the company Exail, a subsidiary of Groupe Gorgé, of a market for a new experiment with the DriX, surface hydrographic drone (Unmanned Surface Vehicle – USV). It is part of the future hydrographic and oceanographic capacity program (CHOF) intended for the French Navy.
This contract, worth 0.5 million euros and lasting six months, is also an opportunity for the DGA to deepen the study of an optimized means of launching and recovery of the drone in order to have a complete solution adapted to the needs for its implementation. This study is monitored by the DGA Project Engineering and DGA Naval Techniques test and expertise centres.
It is planned to carry out this experiment on the hydrographic and oceanographic building Beautemps-Beaupré in February 2023 in the Mediterranean Sea, in collaboration with the hydrographic and oceanographic service of the Navy.
The previous Drix experiment in October 2020 had made it possible to carry out bathymetric surveys at different depths, reaching nearly 200 m in the Ouessant pit. It aimed to assess its added value compared to the systems currently in service (vessels and hydrographic vessels), and to understand the concept of potential use for the CHOF program. In particular, the deployment of two USVs in collaborative mode had been tested.
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