The Directorate General of Armaments (DGA), through its DGA Naval Techniques expertise and testing center, in partnership with the French Navy, conducted the qualification tests of the ROV-DeepSea (ROV-D) remotely operated robot developed by the company Travocean.
- The deep-sea trials were carried out off the coast of Greece at depths of over 5,000 meters last September.
- This milestone is part of the roadmap for the Seabed Management (MFM) strategy published in 2022 by the Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs.
- As part of the major impact MFM program, the DGA is preparing to order a second ROV system.
In 2023, the DGA was entrusted by the General Secretariat for Investment (SGPI) with the development of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), as part of the “Investing in the field of the deep seabed” objective of the France 2030 investment plan. This field concentrates strategic economic, environmental and security issues.
The contract was awarded in September 2024 to LD Travocean, a subsidiary of LD Armateurs specializing in underwater work. The ROV-DeepSea (ROV-D) system was designed and manufactured in just 21 months. It then underwent its first qualification campaign in shallow and medium waters (down to 2,500 meters) off the coast of Toulon in July 2026, followed in September by the deep-sea qualification campaign off the coast of Greece, where the system exceeded 5,000 meters.
Capable of operating at depths of up to 6,000 meters (97% of the ocean floor), equipped with numerous tools and instruments, the ROV-DeepSea is specifically developed to meet the needs of the French Navy and fulfill the knowledge, surveillance and action missions, incumbent upon it in the field of seabed control.
This success is the result of the development of a complex system, conducted in close collaboration between the DGA, the staff of the French Navy, the Underwater Intervention Group (GISMER) – a component of the Expert Centre for Human Diving and Underwater Intervention (CEPHISMER), and the company LD Travocean, a new player in the defense industrial and technological base.
