Exail proves autonomous readiness

The mission from La Ciotat, France to Troia, Portugal was undertaken to join NATO’s REPMUS 2025 exercise and marks a major advancement in autonomous naval operations.

“With this unprecedented long-range transit, Exail’s DriX O-16 shows that large USVs are now an operational reality,” said Sébastien Grall, head of Maritime Autonomy Solutions at Exail.

“As the first uncrewed platform to successfully execute such a mission, it sets a new benchmark in surface autonomy – safe, reliable and mission-ready.”

Over the course of six days, the 16-metre DriX O-16 sailed past the Balearic Islands and through the Strait of Gibraltar without making any port calls.

Operated in supervised autonomy from Exail’s remote operation centre in La Ciotat, the USV demonstrated its capabilities in endurance, situational awareness and autonomous decision-making, even in high-traffic maritime zones.

The DriX O-16 also conducted seabed mapping during the voyage using a Kongsberg EM304 multibeam echosounder, reinforcing its dual capability for transit and data collection.

Exail made its first sale of the cutting-edge USV back in January to a customer in the civil sector.