French technology and defense company Exail has secured a contract to supply its Marins military-grade inertial navigation systems (INS) for an entire fleet of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) operated by an undisclosed navy.
The Marins systems will provide position, heading, attitude and velocity data to support autonomous vessel operations, including in environments where global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals are disrupted, degraded or unavailable.
According to Exail, reliable navigation is essential for USVs operating without onboard crews, particularly in contested environments where satellite navigation may be affected by jamming or spoofing.
The Marins series has previously been deployed on defense surface vessels, submarines and uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs). The new contract extends the use of the systems to the navy’s fleet of uncrewed surface platforms.
Exail said its navigation technologies are used aboard defense vessels operated by more than 50 navies worldwide. The company also supplies navigation technologies for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), which operate in environments where GNSS signals are unavailable.
The contract comes as navies expand their use of uncrewed platforms alongside crewed vessels, creating demand for navigation systems that can maintain reliable performance without continuous human oversight.
"Navies are moving towards fleets where crewed and uncrewed vessels operate alongside one another. But deploying USVs at scale requires more than autonomous platforms: it requires trusted navigation technologies capable of meeting demanding defense requirements. Our strength lies in combining proven defense navigation technologies with first-hand experience of designing and integrating autonomous maritime systems. This dual expertise gives us a unique understanding of the navigation challenges facing uncrewed platforms, positioning Exail to meet the evolving needs of defense USV fleets," said Jean-Marc Binois, CCO at Exail.