Naval Innovation Days 5.0: Pioneering a New Era of Collaborative Ingenuity at Naval Group
On 7 October 2021, Naval Group unites its clients, industrial associates, and academic collaborators for the fifth edition of the Naval Innovation Days in Issy-les-Moulineaux. During this event, Naval Group showcases various innovative initiatives aimed at ensuring the naval dominance of both present and future maritime forces.
Pierre Eric Pommellet, CEO of Naval Group, stated: “The Naval Innovation Days are a crucial component in preparing the future naval industry, in collaboration with R&D entities and our clients. This scientific and industrial co-innovation allows us to harness the best of innovation to tackle the rapid advancements of both innovation rates and potential threats. We are perpetually advancing at every phase of a vessel’s lifecycle, from conception to upkeep. We are motivated by a singular goal: to enhance the operational superiority of naval forces by ensuring information dominance, commitment, and long-term operational capacity at sea.”
The Naval Innovation Days focus on the naval technologies of the future to shape the landscape of maritime defense. As the velocity of innovation accelerates each year, Naval Group emphasizes an open innovation approach. The Group’s aims are to bolster collaboration and dialogue among multiple ecosystems, to swiftly and sustainably incorporate genuine advances on ships, and to deliver a significant capability edge in operational theaters, as exemplified by the new Defence and Intervention frigate.
Naval Group harnesses groundbreaking technologies (digitalization, artificial intelligence, augmented reality) to transform the design, construction, and maintenance of vessels, thereby equipping its clients with the scientific, technological, and industrial prowess necessary to uphold their sovereignty in the long term. The Naval Innovation Days showcase and highlight the collaborative efforts undertaken with the Group’s partners and clients. The continuity and ongoing enhancement of existing programs cater to the demand for incremental innovation while the newly chosen projects address the necessity for technological advancements.
Five innovative initiatives were chosen to exemplify this day:
The underwater threat is emerging as a critical concern for navies in the foreseeable future. The Oceanic Underwater Drone Demonstrator is a project that consolidates technological evolution. A principal challenge lies in captured decision-making autonomy, which will be central to the drone’s capabilities. This demonstrator will facilitate the design, evaluation, and validation of technological components. This workshop highlighted at the Naval Innovation Days emphasizes the prospects for agile development, in conjunction with French authorities and our partners, to deliver sophisticated systems dedicated to future underwater combat.
- Physical integration of UAVs
The physical integration of a drone, whether aerial, surface, or underwater, with a vessel is a notably extensive procedure that utilizes all of Naval Group’s expertise. Drones represent a vital element of future collaborative combat as they present a novel solution to isolation through real-time information exchange among ships. As an integral component of the vessel, the drone evolves into a crucial asset and an extension of the ship’s operational scope.
- Manoeuvring assistance under multiple threats
Utilizing its expertise in underwater combat systems, Naval Group has partnered with Flinders University in Australia to create a decision support tool that offers the commander a secure navigation path without detection. This is the product of technical and scientific innovations in the domains of digital systems and naval acoustics.
- Performance of composite solutions
Enhancements in joining and multi-functional materials have enabled the design of substantial, stationary, and moving components. Composites, characterized by their lightness, strength, corrosion resistance, fireproof properties, and adaptability, are now a formidable alternative to steel and metal alloys. Naval Group and its collaborators are capable of proposing novel architectural solutions that can enhance the overall performance of its vessels and submarines.
Given that cyber threats can jeopardize a ship’s mission, maintaining security is imperative.
Naval Group is devising solutions to provide the crew with a holistic view of cyber risks, through dynamic risk management that identifies, in real time, the most critical systems requiring updates.
