Naval Group aspires to offer navies a complete range of products that includes its own drones and autonomous systems, as well as those offered by our subsidiary Sirehna as well as our partners. The Autonomous Systems and Underwater Weapons (DSA) Department was established in the beginning of 2023 with this end in mind. With the exponential increase in high-intensity conflicts, Naval Group aims to boost the operational capability of naval forces by proposing innovative, proven and competitive solutions.
The partnership signed between Sirehna and Couach, who have been collaborating since 2022, supports this ambition: “We are forging ties with the best partners to position ourselves on the small-scale surface drone market”, explains Patrick Pennamen, Managing Director of Sirehna.
Both partners have in-depth expertise in their respective fields. Sirehna brings 40 years of experience in the dynamics of naval platforms, including more than a decade on ship remote-operation technologies while Couach provides its historical expertise in the design and construction of custom-made or serially built civil and military ships. Together, the French duo aim to offer highly competitive combat-ready products that can be rapidly deployed.
This alliance complements a partnership approach initiated a little over 18 months ago by the two partners to meet the time to market criterion, a decisive factor in this market.
A community of values
Over and above the complementarity of expertise, the partnership between Sirehna and Couach expresses a community of values and is guided by the desire to provide effective responses to complex problems. The teams of both partners join forces on a daily basis to deploy a pragmatic approach to meeting the challenges that arise. There is no dearth of challenges with the imminent unveiling of their first of series. As Florent Battistella, Chairman and CEO of Couach explains, “Surface drones are unmanned ships. This specificity has a significant impact on the carrier’s design, development and production. The weight of the drone, in particular, has led us to rethink our approach.” The shipyard has already set up specific infrastructure and production units.