During two weeks in October, the Beautemps-Beaupre hydrographic and oceanographic (BHO) vessel tested and implemented Exail’s DRIX surface drone as part of the CHOF (future hydro-oceanographic capacity) program.
Currently being prepared by the Navy and the Navy’s Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service (Shom) in support of the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA), this program is intended to ensure the renewal of maritime capabilities for knowledge and measurement of the marine environment in general and the underwater environment in particular.
The CHOF program is therefore a strategic project because, in addition to the maintenance of marine cartography, the missions of these vessels are essential for defense activities, including submarines, and also contribute to the control of the seabed.
The sailors of the Beautemps-Beaupre and the Atlantic Hydro-Oceanographic Group (GHOA) were thus able to appropriate this latest-generation drone in all sea configurations and tactical situations, thus drawing the contours of a new way of probing, combining drone, speedboat and vessel.
Beyond hydrography, these tests illustrate a significant transformation in the implementation of the naval assets of the future, combining manned and remote-controlled means on and under the surface.