French Navy bets on electronic warfare to counter anti-ship threats
With 2,000 miles of direct coastline and more than a dozen overseas territories, France’s naval vessels maintain a continuous presence in multiple maritime zones — from the North Sea to the Caribbean, and from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific.
France has one of Europe’s only truly global blue-water navies — alongside the United Kingdom — and must protect its fleet against threats nearby and those launching from afar. Anti-ship missile technology is becoming more diverse and sophisticated, and countries like China and Russia are developing weapons that can launch from longer ranges, from ship or shore, and at supersonic or even hypersonic speeds.The French Navy is looking to new generations of electronic warfare capabilities to strengthen the defense of its ships. Paired with the vessels’ kinetic weaponry, this approach is meant to create a multilayered defense against emerging threats, officials and analysts said.
The service’s investments in electronic warfare capabilities for ship protection are “numerous” and “increasing,” said Jeremy Bachelier, a commander in the French Navy with over two decades of experience, and a military fellow at the French Institute of International Relations.“For any navy with deep-sea and global ambitions like the French Navy, it’s obvious that active and passive protection is part of the baseline necessary and essential for any deployment,” he added.
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