French deep-tech firm Rift announced on 5 November the deployment of its autonomous drone infrastructure for sea trials along the French coastline. Supported by the government as part of the France 2030 programme, with funding of €1.3 million, the project aims to validate, under real-world conditions, a rapid-response aerial surveillance system available 24/7.

Drones can take off on alert from autonomous stations, fly to a maritime area and transmit real-time images to operations centres, day or night. Controlled remotely using software developed by the start-up RiftOS, the system requires no on-site crew. It is intended to support missions such as maritime surveillance, combating illicit trafficking, monitoring fishing activities, detecting pollution, and carrying out search and rescue (SAR) operations.

Presented at Euronaval, this infrastructure is intended to complement existing assets, such as maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) and helicopters. Funding from France 2030 will enable Rift to develop an architecture of autonomous stations that can be replicated at various coastal locations, with the aim of strengthening the maritime surveillance capabilities of government agencies.