Since 31 August 2023, Admiral Nicolas Vaujour is Chief of Staff of the French Navy. Previously, in addition to his command duties on various ships such as the air defence frigate Chevalier Paul, he served on several staffs, including that of the NATO Response Force, before becoming deputy chief of operations on the Armed Forces General Staff. In this interview given to the IHEDN on the occasion of the Euronaval exhibitionThe 42,000 men and women under his command face a wide range of challenges.
YOU TOOK UP YOUR POST AT THE END OF 2023, AT A TIME WHEN THE FRENCH NAVY IS FACED WITH AN INCREASING NUMBER OF OPERATING ZONES... HOW ARE YOU COPING? WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR THE NAVY?
The geopolitical context is highly conflictual and volatile. It is marked by interconnected issues and profound instability.
There are a few invariants. The nuclear narrative employed by Russia and the observation of the current conflict in Ukraine reinforce deterrence. What's more, because of their intrinsic ambiguity, common spaces such as the sea and cyberspace remain prime sites for conflict or confrontation with our competitors. Two underlying trends are superimposed on this state of affairs: the environmental shift and the proliferation of technologies.
What is changing in the current context is the simultaneity of conflicts, the growing level of violence and the challenge to the international order. This situation calls for a tougher navy, with greater immediate combat capability, from its bases to the high seas.
This is the purpose of the new strategic plan for the Navy, unveiled last May. The short-term part of the plan relies on our ability to adapt and our agility to prepare our crews for combat. In the short cycle, we have improved the detection and jamming capabilities of frigates deploying to the Red Sea, we are adapting their training and we are strengthening the crews of FREMM and submarines to make them more resilient.
The second phase, the "long phase" of the plan, involves anticipating technological breakthroughs, particularly in artificial intelligence and data processing. Data hubs will be installed on board the units of the naval air group, whose mission begins at the end of 2024. The long term also means developing our partnerships with our allies, and strengthening the link with the nation, in particular through the coastal reserve flotillas in the Atlantic this year, and in the Mediterranean and overseas soon. The Navy must be resilient and retain operational superiority in the future.
WHAT ARE THE MAJOR "HOT SPOTS" FOR THE NAVY AT THE MOMENT? WE'RE THINKING OF THE RED SEA WITH THE HOUTHIS, THE BALTIC AND THE BLACK SEA WITH RUSSIA?
The Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on 7 October have triggered a cascade of crises in the Middle East, superimposed on the war in Ukraine. Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia for 1,000 days. It is an ongoing conflict that is having an impact on the activities of the Navy and our NATO allies in the Euro-Atlantic area. The Navy has significantly increased its participation in NATO operations since 2022, for example by taking command of a task group in the Mediterranean in the first half of 2024, or an increased presence in the Baltic Sea.
For the French Navy today, we are not observing conflicts. We are in contact with the threat through our commitment to Operation ASPIDES in the Red Sea. The Navy is successful in operations. We are facing up to the threat by protecting and accompanying maritime trade in the Bab El-Mandeb Strait. The context is therefore demanding in terms of elongation and preparation for our forces. In December 2023, a French frigate shot down two Houthi aerial drones. This was the start of an uninterrupted sequence of frigate deployments. In March, a Panther helicopter destroyed a drone in flight, while a frigate destroyed several ballistic missiles: two firsts in operation. At the end of the summer, a frigate destroyed a threatening surface drone. The Navy is there. We must remain ready.
Less visible is the deterrence mission, an absolutely central mission for the Navy through the strategic ocean forceor the nuclear naval air force built around the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.
And there are missions that are less well known but just as significant in their impact, for example in the North Atlantic, where the Navy, together with its allies, is facing an increased presence of Russian submarine forces from the Northern Fleet. Submarines, helicopters, frigates, maritime patrol aircraft: the anti-submarine warfare mission is demanding, and it is an area in which our Navy has developed considerable expertise that is recognised by its partners.
Finally, there are all the other "hot spots", in the French West Indies, French Guiana, the English Channel and the North Sea, where the Navy carries out permanent actions to protect and intervene in the fight against drug trafficking, fisheries policing or to save human lives, alongside other administrations. More than 43 tonnes of drugs seized in 2024; several thousand human lives saved in the Channel and all along the coast of mainland France and overseas. The Navy is called upon everywhere.
HOW DO THE UKRAINIANS, WHO HAVE NO NAVY, MANAGE TO DEFEAT SEASONED NAVAL FORCES?
The Ukrainian example is indeed striking. A country without a navy that manages to repel a powerful, organised and structured navy into its ports. It is at sea that Ukraine has achieved most of its successes. This is due to the excellence of its engineers and sailors, their ability to adapt and use technology to their advantage. This tactic has been particularly effective in an enclosed sea, the Black Sea, where disruptive capabilities can produce maximum effect. The asymmetrical balance of power at sea turned to the Ukrainians' advantage. But Russia's power is always expressed in the backyard: its strategic depth in a gigantic territory or in the immensity of the Atlantic Ocean.
For us, the French Navy, with global and nuclear responsibilities, it's a reminder not to let our guard down and to remain dynamic. We need to be more agile in tight spaces, what I like to call "agility at the net". We also need to be more offensive, and not just defensive, so that we can occupy all the room for manoeuvre that has opened up below the threshold of war. Finally, we also need to be powerful on the high seas. It's our reach and mobility that give us the resilience we need.
IN THIS CASE, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE "DRONING" OF NAVAL COMBAT. HOW IS THE FRENCH NAVY ADAPTING TO THIS NEW SITUATION?
Drones have an impact on all environments and are an integral part of intervention and protection missions, right up to combat. Today, in the Navy, drone technology is a concrete reality: we operate aerial drones from amphibious helicopter carriers, ocean-going patrol boats and semaphore vessels.
In addition, the Navy has adapted the training of its units to this reality. For example, theWildfire exercise carried out in October at Toulon, with more than fifty drones attacking units individually or in swarms. This type of exercise enables us to make progress in protection against drones, as well as in their use in an offensive mode. It is essential in the process of training units at sea before they are deployed, particularly in the Red Sea.
From a technological point of view, the Navy took risks very early on in the development of drones. It has committed itself to the mine countermeasures programme of the future, alongside the British, and this year has received the first three mine countermeasures modules. This is the complete dronisation of a Navy component that will gradually come to maturity.
Le Dronathlon which took place in Toulon last October is an example of the coordination between the Navy, industry and the French Defence Procurement Agency in the search for the best technological solutions. In the air, the first trials date back to 2008 and have made it possible to exploit use cases and explore opportunities on all platforms. S100 UAVs are now being deployed from amphibious helicopter carriers.
WHY ARE THE LAST TWO MULTI-MISSION FRIGATES (FREMM), ALSACE AND LORRAINE, DEDICATED TO ANTI-AIR WARFARE, AND NOT ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE LIKE THE PREVIOUS SIX? ARE THE TWO DEDICATED FORBIN-CLASS FRIGATES NO LONGER ENOUGH?
The FREMM-DA Alsace and Lorraine have the same anti-submarine capabilities as the FREMMs, to which have been added anti-aircraft, area defence and air operations control functionalities thanks to developments in their combat system, an optimised "wasp-waist" mast and an increased radar detection range.
During its long-term deployment to Asia, Lorraine took part in Operation Sagittarius the evacuation of European nationals from Sudan. Alsace was deployed in the Indian Ocean as part of the ASPIDES operation. The two frigates have demonstrated their full capabilities in the field of air defence, and we are learning all we can to upgrade their protection system, sensors and effectors, and their combat system, or to adapt crew training. The FREMM-DAs complete the range of frigates specialising in this area, alongside the Forbin and the Chevalier Paul.
WHAT IMPROVEMENTS IN MISSIONS WILL THE GRADUAL ARRIVAL OF THE FIVE DEFENCE AND INTERVENTION FRIGATES, THE FIRST OF WHICH, ADMIRAL RONARC'H, WILL BE DELIVERED SHORTLY, ENABLE?
Admiral Ronarc'h will in fact be the first defence and intervention frigate (FDI)She will be delivered to the French Navy in 2025. She underwent her first sea trials at the beginning of October off Lorient, and the initial results are satisfactory. These are first-rank frigates that are versatile, digital and natively upgradeable. Their submarine warfare capabilities are close to those of the FREMMs and their surface warfare capabilities are close to those of the FREMM-DAs, albeit with less tonnage. They will make it possible to achieve the format of 15 first-rank frigates envisaged in the 2017 strategic review. We will be able to count on the IDF for all protection and intervention missions, as well as support for deterrence.
YOU SAY THAT THE CLIMATE CRISIS "IS A CATALYST FOR CHAOS". HOW IS THE NAVY RESPONDING TO THIS CRISIS?
Global warming is a source of instability and tension, and its effects are numerous and critical: population movements, access to water, access to fish stocks, changes in agricultural yields. I therefore endorse the words of the French Chief of Defence Staff: climate change is a "catalyst for chaos".
Sailors are very sensitive to the environment, because of their permanent presence at sea, on all the world's oceans. In a way, the Navy is a sentinel of climate change. That said, we need to adapt to this climate shift. This is true when we talk about the energy transition, which raises issues of refuelling and skills, with fossil fuel engines that the military may one day be the last to use.
This transition is also generating new tasks: the installation of wind farms on the high seas is a new asset to be protected in our approaches. We also need to regulate these new uses. Climate change is also changing our missions, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, with the increase in assistance missions following humanitarian and climatic disasters. This is a real concern for our partners in these regions, and one that we share with them from overseas.
The Navy is also working hard to adapt its infrastructure to extreme heat and rising water levels in ports. The infrastructure work being carried out in Toulon and Brest takes account of this reality.
