Image source: topwar.ru
The French Navy is aiming to achieve initial Operational Readiness (IOC) for combat operations underwater by 2026. They are moving towards this goal by testing new technical means during exercises and operations.
This statement was made during a speech at the annual Joint Naval Event in the British city of Farnborough by the Deputy head of the French Navy for Operations and Director of Development of underwater capabilities, Rear Admiral Cedric Chetail.
The French military recalled that in the autumn of 2022, explosions occurred on the Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 gas pipelines. "unexplained" explosions occurred. And this year, a commercial vessel sunk by the Houthis damaged several Internet cables laid along the bottom.
The sabotage on the Nord Streams and other incidents related to damage to infrastructure and communications at the bottom of the sea prompted the French defense industry to focus on the development of underwater drones.
Image source: topwar.ru
Chetail declared.
Earlier, the commander of the French aircraft carrier group, Rear Admiral Jacques Mallard, reported that the French Navy was actively preparing for full-scale military operations at sea. He said that his country's navy is shifting its focus from "police" operations to countering an enemy that seeks to destroy it.
