Naval Group (formerly known as DCNS) is a French industrial group specialised in naval defence and marine renewable energy. The group employs next to 13,000 people in 18 countries. Naval Group has a heritage almost 400 years. Major shipyards were built in France in Brest (1631), Nantes-Indret (1771), Lorient (1778) and, subsequently, in Cherbourg (1813). Others were to follow. As early as 1926, what we know as Naval Group today already had all the facilities now owned by the group in mainland France. Naval Group, a private law company in which the French state holds a 62.49% stake, Thales 35% and the personnel a 1.64% stake and the company itself 0.87%, is the heir to the French naval dockyards and the Direction des Constructions et Armes Navales (DCAN), which became the DCN (Direction des Constructions Navales) in 1991, DCNS in 2007 and Naval Group since 2017.
Naval Group’s activities can be broken down into two main sectors: naval defence, the group’s historical core business (ships, submarines, operational readiness management of the forces), and energy and marine infrastructures (renewable marine energies, civilian nuclear energy, construction of naval bases and electric power plants). Naval Group designs, develops and manages the operational readiness of surface and underwater naval systems, and of their associated systems and infrastructures. As a project manager and integrator of armed vessels, Naval Group intervenes all along the value chain, from strategic programme planning, to design, construction and the management of operational readiness. The group works with the French navy and other navies, for conventional products, and with the authorisation of the French government. It also offers its military expertise to the French Air Force to design automated navigation and combat systems, and to renovate aircraft.
Surface naval systems
- Multi-mission frigates: FREMM-class frigates
- Multi-mission frigates: Design of Second Generation Patrol Vessel for the Royal Malaysian
- Navy, based on the Gowind-class corvette
- Air defence frigates: Horizon-class frigates
- Medium-tonnage vessels: Gowind-class corvettes
- Aircraft carriers: French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle
- Helicopter carriers: Mistral-class LHD
- Construction of aerial drones for the navy
Submarines and underwater weapons
- Conventional submarines: the Scorpène class
- Nuclear submarines: device-launching nuclear submarines Triomphant class and Redoutable class
- Nuclear submarines: nuclear attack submarines Rubis class and Barracuda class
- Hybrid concepts: the company’s Sous-Marin Experimental (SMX) series explores advanced concepts for submarine warfare.[11] One in the series—the SMX-25—was designed to arrive in theatre rapidly through high surface speed and then operate as normal underwater.
- F21 heavy torpedoes
- MU90 light torpedoes
