In late December 2025, following a seven-month competitive tender procedure, the French Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Navy (SHOM) placed an order for an autonomous underwater micro-drone (μAUV), the NemoSens® model, manufactured by the French company RTsys.
This order forms part of the transformation plan for hydrographic and oceanographic data acquisition methods launched by SHOM in 2024. It aims to address growing civil and military needs for certified and relevant information, over expanded areas of interest and down to greater depths.
As the first autonomous underwater micro-drone ordered by SHOM, NemoSens® is a lightweight and rapidly deployable system. Equipped in particular with a single-frequency side-scan sonar and a magnetometer, it is designed to improve high-resolution knowledge of the continental shelf seabed, a strategic area with significant civil and military stakes.
Delivery of the system is scheduled for the first half of 2026.
With this acquisition, SHOM strengthens its role in the understanding of the marine environment and in supporting national strategies for sovereignty and seabed control.
