Exail Technologies announced it has reached a new operational milestone in the field of autonomous surface drones. Last week, the 16-meter-long DriX O-16 drone achieved a world first by traveling from Exail’s site in La Ciotat to the Troia Peninsula in Portugal, where NATO’s REPMUS exercises are currently taking place. The Drix traveled nearly 1,100 nautical miles (almost 2,000 km), passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, one of the busiest maritime passages in the world.
The drone navigated autonomously for 6 days, under the supervision of the Exail remote operation center in La Ciotat. It has successfully implemented its on-board sensors and decision-making autonomy allowing it to avoid maritime traffic and ensure safe navigation. This operation demonstrated the high level of maturity and robustness of this standalone solution.
The DriX builds on several key patents as well as Exail’s decades-long experience in the field of marine robotics. The first DriX model, 8 meters long, was launched in 2017 and is now in operation in 19 countries around the world for civil and defense missions. With more than 100,000 cumulated hours of operation and nearly 1 million nautical miles travelled, the DriX is one of the world’s best surface drones for data collection applications, both civil (mapping, survey) and defense (surveillance, control of the maritime environment).
NATO’s REPMUS naval exercises (Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Maritime Unmanned Systems), dedicated to the use of drones in the naval domain, are a new opportunity to demonstrate Exail’s capabilities in this field.
In parallel with the REPMUS exercises, Exail is participating in the European I-SEAMORE exercises at the same location. The I-SEAMORE project aims to improve maritime surveillance through enhanced surveillance capabilities using autonomous solutions. Exail is participating in this project with its Inspector 90 surface drone, equipped with advanced optronic sensors for surface detection.
Exail Technologies is a high-tech defense company specializing in the fields of autonomous robotics and navigation systems, with a strong vertical integration of the businesses. The group offers maritime drone systems, particularly for countering underwater mines, and inertial navigation units using state-of-the-art fibre-optic gyroscope technology.
Exail Technologies ensures performance, reliability and safety to its civil and military customers operating in harsh environments and generates its revenues in nearly 80 countries. The company generates most of its revenues in the defense sector, but also from civilian customers.
