Exail Selected For French Navy's OPV Navigation

French firm Exail has been chosen by Naval Group to supply upgraded naval navigation systems on the French Navy's Ocean Patrol Vessels (OPVs).

French procurement agency the Directorate General of Armament's (DGA) Ocean Patrol Vessel programme is seeking to replace the Estienne d'Orves class boats with ten new ships. An order for the first seven of these was placed at the end of 2023 and it is anticipated they will be gradually phased into service between 2026 and 2030.

At 92 metres long and with a fully loaded tonnage of about 2,400 tons and a range of 6,000 nautical miles, the new boats will be larger and have greater capabilities than the vessels they are replacing. Able to accommodate up to 84 people, the OPVs will boast Nexter and Thales' RapidFire Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) which has a 4,000m range and can fire 200 rounds per minute. They will also be equipped with Thales' Bluewatcher hull sonar.

Naval Group has been put in charge of project management and the production of their combat systems; the industrial group has chosen Exail to supply a suite of navigation hardware, including Phins Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) and Netans Data Distribution Units (DDU).

As per an Exil press release, the Phins INS provides precise navigation data resilient to signal disturbances, offering a combination of durability and minimal maintenance requirements. It described the Netans system as "the cornerstone of the navigation system" ensuring the OPVs were protected against cyber threats and received consistent data streams.

Regional sales manager at Exail Pierre-Louis Roudaut commented: “We are honored to have been selected by Naval Group,” adding, “Through this collaboration, we are fulfilling our commitment to simplify the lives of sailors by offering a thoughtfully designed system that precisely addresses their needs for reliability and performance.”

• You can read more details on the Exail website