Breaking Defense – A company official told Breaking Defense that the micro AUV market is relatively niche, but new startups are beginning to pop up, and it’s likely a similar trend to the proliferation of uncrewed aerial systems and uncrewed ground combat systems will soon emerge in the naval domain.

Defense News – Western navies are preparing for wartime scenarios where they may face degraded operational conditions, including a loss of satellite communications, navy commanders from the U.S. and France said at the Paris Naval Conference this week. The French navy includes two or three days of drills under “back to the ‘80s” conditions whenever it deploys its carrier strike group, which means operating without satellite communications, Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Nicolas Vaujour said at the conference.

Reuters – About 1,000 people from Gaza have been treated in a French field hospital aboard the Dixmude, a French helicopter carrier,  off the coast of Egypt, its captain said, providing care for some as health infrastructure in the war-devastated enclave collapses.

USNI News – Houthi forces attacked a Norwegian bio-diesel tanker in the Red Sea on Monday – just days after the spokesman for its military said the organization would target any ships heading to or from Israel.

Naval News – French and Philippine defense officials met last Friday in Manila to discuss how the two countries can enhance their military cooperation.

Naval News – The French Navy Mistral-class LHD Tonnerre departed its home port of Toulon yesterday. The vessel is now en route to the Eastern Mediterranean, an area where naval vessel presence is getting increasingly busy…

War on the Rocks – A recent contribution by two French naval officers, Thibault Lavernhe and François-Olivier Corman, stands out. Seeking to refocus discussion naval warfare on naval tactics and reconnect with naval doctrine, they push back against what one might refer to as technological determinism. In the process, they offer a highly informative take on naval warfare that makes the case for keeping humans in the loop for tactical rather than ethical reasons.

Naval News – The French Navy Air Defense FREMM Frigate Lorraine returned to her home-port in Toulon on 2 August, following its long “duration deployment” which took her all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Naval News – The French Navy has taken delivery of the LSS Jacques Chevallier, the first of a new class of supply ships meant to replace the service’s aging fleet tankers.

Naval News – The French Navy announced that its Rubis-class nuclear-powered attack submarine “Perle” is operational again. The submarine started a refit period in 2019, during which it suffered damages during a fire in June 2020.

Naval News – France has assured nations with territorial claims in the South China Sea they will not get involved to fuel the situation, citing the deployment of the newest ship in the Marine Nationale is not an aggressive and provocative action, France’s military operations chief in the Asia-Pacific region said Wednesday.

Naval News – European navies may need to provide greater-still at-sea presence in key European waters – and further afield, into the Indian Ocean and beyond – to add mass in these regions to deter security threats if US Navy forces are increasingly focused on operational deployments in the Pacific, the French Navy’s Chief of Naval Staff told a major UK Royal Navy (RN) conference in London.

Naval News – In what is rather unusual (but not a first), French frigate Lorraine, which is yet to be commissioned, took part in the evacuation operations in Sudan.

USNI News – The Charles de Gaulle Carrier Strike Group is now in the Indian Ocean exercising with the Indian Navy. At the same time, three Rafale fighter aircraft embarked on FS Charles de Gaulle (R 91) deployed to Singapore as part of the Rastaban joint power projection exercise with the French Air Force.

War Zone – The newly commissioned latest version of the Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft is now equally proficient in overland missions.

Breaking Defense – Known for the time being as the PANG (for Porte Avion Nouvelle Génération), the 75,000 tonne (82,673 tons) ship will be 310m (1,017 ft) long and 85m (279 feet) at the widest point of the carrier deck.

Naval News – The French Navy is working towards a Pacific Region deployment for its Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group in 2025.

Naval News – In a report published by the French Parliament’s National Defense and Armed Forces Committee, members of parliament (MPs) review the French Navy (Marine Nationale)’s feedback on the high-intensity exercise ‘POLARIS’ conducted from November 18 to December 3, 2021.

France Inter – France has just raised its level of alert on nuclear deterrence. Now, three of the submarines equipped with this weapon are at sea, an unprecedented situation.

Naval News – The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and its strike group are being retasked to support NATO following the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. The French CSG which is currently deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea as part of the “CLEMENCEAU 22” mission began a logistics stop in Cyprus. It will then be reassigned to assist NATO.

Naval News – A new “Seabed Warfare Strategy” was unveiled by French Minister of Armed Forces, Florence Parly and Joint Chief of Staff, General Thierry Burkhard on 14 February. The strategy aims at broadening the capabilities of anticipation and action of the French Navy (Marine Nationale) up to 6,000 m depth.

Defense News – Autonomous and remotely operated drones are at the heart of France’s ambitions to further explore and exploit the deep sea waters under a new seabed strategy release Monday.

USNI News – The French Navy is only now starting to recover from 30 years of deep budget cuts that saw its fleet size halved, its senior admiral said Monday.

Naval News – The U.S. Navy and the French Navy (Marine Nationale) inked a Strategic Interoperability Framework (SIF) on 17 December 2021. The agreement paves the way for increased cooperation between the two navies for the next twenty years, especially their ability to “plug and fight” side by side.

Naval News – Ballistic Missile Submarines (SSBNs) form the backbone of nuclear deterrents. Yet the types in service with NATO navies, the U.S., U.K., and France, are reaching the ends of their service lives. The new submarines which are being built to succeed them should keep the deterrent dependable in an uncertain future.