An illustration of an Exail A18 minesweeper drone near undersea naval mines. For obvious reasons, drones are better suited to minesweeping operations than humans are, and the French Navy has ordered eight additional A18 drones for that purpose. (Courtesy of Exail)

France Is Making a Big New Investment in Naval Drones. Here’s What It’s Buying.

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A range of new drone purchases by the French military includes investments in deep-sea exploration, minesweeping, and conventional naval power.

Though the French military has often been the subject of derision in the United States, France has one of the strongest defense industrial bases in western Europe—and French defense planners understand the vital importance that drones will play in modern warfare in the years to come. This helps to explain why France has pushed its domestic manufacturers to respond more quickly to demand signals from the military—particularly in the realm of unmanned maritime technology, a space that Paris hopes to lead in.

It was with this in mind that French Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin announced a new government-industry........

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