The French Navy has completed its latest counter-drone exercise, Wildfire 25.2, designed to test the ability of naval crews to respond to complex multi-domain threats. The drills, conducted off southern France, featured coordinated attacks by aerial, surface and underwater drones, forcing participating units to react under near-combat conditions.
Nearly 80 targets were deployed during the exercise by the French Armaments Directorate General (DGA) and private contractor Sea Owl, including Banshee and Snipe drones. Six French combat vessels, supported by naval aviation units and the French Air and Space Force, faced coordinated scenarios simulating saturation strikes. Crews employed a mix of countermeasures ranging from artillery fire and jamming systems to Martlet missiles, GBU-12 laser-guided bombs and Mistral surface-to-air missiles.
A Royal Navy AW159 Wildcat multi-role helicopter joined the drills, operating from Hyères naval air base with a Martlet launcher fitted. The aircraft was observed conducting sorties over the DGA test range at Ile du Levant, a location frequently used for missile evaluations. Local photography and social media posts from the DGA confirmed the Wildcat’s participation, with indications that live Martlet firings were carried out against drone targets.
Wildfire 25.2 also integrated emerging technologies under the French Navy’s Perseus approach, which accelerates the fielding of innovative solutions such as advanced radars, jammers, drone remote-control detection systems and neutralization tools. The exercise provided an opportunity to evaluate these systems under realistic conditions while strengthening interoperability with NATO observers present.
By stressing crews with unexpected and layered drone attacks, French officials said the exercise underscored the importance of tactical agility and coordination between ships, aircraft and allied partners. Lessons learned will feed back into the Navy’s training programs and the Naval Action Force’s Center of Expertise, helping refine Europe’s growing counter-drone capabilities.
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Post Image Credit: French Navy
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