Euronaval 2026 – Naval Group unveils the SCX 26 concept ship

During the Euronaval exhibition, Naval Group presented the SCX 26 concept ship, its research and development project for the future of naval warfare. It was designed considering the evolution of operational scenarios the worldwide navies are encountering today and foreseen in the future, and the urgent operational requirements and development roadmaps that services have respectively issued and launched to cope with current and future threats

“Confronted with a combination of high-end threats, such as ballistic and hypersonic missiles, very silent submarines as well as low-cost drones in swarms, among other threats, either you spread the countering assets on different ships and unmanned platforms, or you combine and concentrate them on a big platform. Naval Group is studying both solutions and the SCX 26 concept ship is the result in the case of a single larger combatant vessel, a starting point for discussion with navies to see if it responds to their needs,” Aymeric Moullart de Torcy, Operational Marketing Drones & Cyber at Naval Group said, providing first details of the new large concept platform.

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Based on the evolving multidomain operational scenarios and threats, the new concept ship was designed around four main requirements, according to the Naval Group representative: powerful sensors, high firepower, command and control and facilities to manage a fleet of drones alongside manned platforms, and a large modular space that can accommodate missiles and drones based on present and future weapon systems developments.

The resulting platform presented by Naval Group has a length and beam of respectively 170 and 24 metres, and a full load displacement of around 8,000 tonnes. It features a prominent inverted bow with a large bulb, extended superstructures centred on two massive octagonal blocks with a forecastle accommodating a rail gun and a large block of vertical launching system (VLS) for missiles in the bow area, and a large flight deck for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) manned and unmanned air vehicles and drones in the stern area. Amidships, between the two massive superstructures, we find a large modular area for containerized long range missiles and one-way weapon systems. The propulsion system is CODLAG (Combined DieseL And Gas) capable to provide a maximum speed of up to 30 knots, and an endurance of over 8,000 nm at an unspecified cruise speed, even if different configurations are being considered with a lower speed, said the Naval Group representative. The platform is managed by a crew of approximately 150 personnel but is capable to accommodate additional 100 people.

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To face both high-end and mass threats, the concept ship is equipped with long-range detection capabilities, combining powerful radars, electric warfare but also drones that can operate far away to provide extended early warning and protection to the ship and the naval group. The two massive octagonal superstructure blocks feature a large package of conformal apertures; the main ones are devoted to radio-frequency sensors, while the smaller ones to electronic warfare, communications but also electro-optical sensors, sided by turrets for surveillance, tracking and designation in the visible, optical and unspecified bands. The top structures also feature retractable sensors of undisclosed types. To cope with long-range ballistic and hypersonic missiles, in addition to reduced radar cross section threats, the radar sensors suite includes a long-range UHF-band radar with four fixed faces (4FF) large active electronically scanned antennas (AESAs) which are distributed between the two blocks, as well as a Thales Sea Fire family S-band 4FF with the same antennas arrangement. While the latter is already operational, the UHF-band radar is foreseen as a naval development of a family of systems which is expected to be developed starting from a land-based solution in the pipeline by Thales, EDR On-Line understood. As anticipated, the concept platform will also be equipped with a next generation electronic warfare suite with conformal apertures, which is expected to include both passive and active subsystems (RF and communications at least) as well cyber capabilities.

The SCX 26 is to be armed with a huge arsenal of surface-to-air, surface-to-surface and surface/air-to-underwater weapon systems to counter multiple and overwhelming threats, whilst ensuring cost-effectiveness. It is centred on 96 VLS cells of various classes to be centred on the next generation Naval Group Sylver family, distributed in the bow (64) and stern (32) cells, in the latter case on both sides of the flight deck, and an electromagnetic gun or railgun being developed by French research centre and defence industries, capable of rapid fire against a range of threats, requiring important developments in the ship electrical generation and storage suite to also accommodate laser directed energy weapon system (LDEW).

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The mission area amidship is capable to accommodate up to four 40-foot ISO containers, which can host up to four long-range cruise missile each, or a mix with one-way long range weapon systems, based on the exposed model configuration. Naval Group also foresees a 100 kW LDEW, which wasn’t identified on the model. Additionally Naval Group looks to other new weapons such as a new-design depth charge or underwater weapons which can assure a multi-layered protection with not-lethal and lethal systems, as requested by the new operational scenarios. These in addition to conventional smaller calibre effectors, including two multi-purpose Naval Group Rampart modular launchers board and starboard behind the stern superstructure, one stealth 57 mm gun turret in the middle behind the stern superstructure block, and four gun-mounts; the latter, probably RAPIDFire 40, are located on the sides, ahead of the front superstructure, port and starboard at the extreme stern.

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The stern area accommodates a large flight deck with a central large-capacity elevator to access the underneath modular mission bay where all material is recovered, including the NFH90 helicopter. In the stern area it hosts two fast boats, one ready on a launch and recovery station, and a towed underwater system on port side; the central section hosts VTOL unmanned air vehicles (VTUAVs) in the central and port area, while at starboard we find launchers for underwater unmanned vehicles (UUVs) and loitering munitions; the forward hangar area accommodates the NFH90 helicopter and additional containerized one-way drones. Except for RHIBs and sonar, all remaining systems hosted in the hangar bay are moved on the weather deck through the central lift.

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The integrated lifting system on the rear ship’s superstructure features two retractable cranes operating respectively port and starboard that allow to deploy and recover underwater drones, rearm the VLS cells, and resupply the platform. The ship will be equipped with areas to store, maintain, and even manufacture drones with 3D, steel, or plastic printers, in addition to drones’ command control areas for mission planning and control. The large flight deck features three landing spots, two for the VTUAVs and one for an NFH 90 helicopter.

Resilience is ensured by a high degree of segregation and redundancy in key systems, particularly the weapon systems, with their two main VLSs distributed in the bow and stern section, in addition to the modular area amidships.

The new concept platform is also expected to be equipped with a new generation information and technology infrastructure, “a lot more distributed, scalable, with the ability to be connected to shore, but still be able to work stand-alone,” and cyber resilience by design, of which the Naval Group representative preferred not to discuss. However, based on the new concept video and few other released details, EDR On-Line understood Naval Group with the support of national industries, is working on a platform with advanced survivability capabilities, thanks to the development of disruptive technologies, capable to reduce the ship visibility to adversary multispectral sensors, including those operating from space.

In this highly digitized and automated environment, the challenge is to enable operators to assess the situation, coordinate systems and make decisions more rapidly. While artificial intelligence and autonomy enhance the crew’s capabilities, operational decision-making and responsibility remain at the heart of human action. This concept ship thus offers a vision of the combat vessel as an evolving system of systems, capable of utilising both its own capabilities and those it deploys around it, always with a view to collaborative combat.

Photos by L. Peruzzi, graphics courtesy Naval Group