French Army Tests River-Launched Drone Swarm From Engineer Craft.

The French Army’s engineer branch trialed a mixed ANAFI USA/ANAFI AI drone swarm launched from an Engineer river craft, controlled by a single operator for ISR and support tasks. The work aims to validate small-platform swarm ops and refine comms/power architectures before broader integration on the Serval vehicle.

France’s Army Technical Section (STAT) and the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment conducted an autumn evaluation of a river-borne drone swarm, flying Parrot ANAFI USA and ANAFI AI aircraft, including two with smoke-release kits, from a compact engineer craft. The setup hinged on Scalian’s EZ-Chains software, a tactical Wi-Fi “bubble” paired with a private 4G cell, and disciplined antenna placement to keep telemetry flowing when many aircraft transmit at once. Early STAT results point to simultaneous control of up to 25 airframes and planned migration of the concept onto the Serval engineer vehicle after proving it on the service’s Engineer river craft (EFG).
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The concept turns the river craft into a mobile sensor node able to extend the ISR bubble along waterways while keeping the main force compact and discreet (Picture source: STAT)

The technical challenge lies in launching and recovering multiple aircraft from a compact deck while accounting for surface wind, airflow disturbed by the superstructure, and the vessel’s own motion. The Engineer river craft was modified accordingly with dedicated takeoff pads, a mast carrying Wi-Fi and 4G antennas, and a communications architecture split between a tactical Wi-Fi bubble and a private 4G bubble. This separation reduces telemetry congestion when several drones transmit simultaneously. Power was designed for sustained activity using Ecoflow batteries connected to the ship’s electrical system, smoothing power spikes for ground stations and fast chargers.

At the core, the EZ_Chains software aggregates aircraft compatible with a standard autopilot and enables sector-based mission planning, role assignment, and near-real-time trajectory updates. In practice, the operator views swarm telemetry, divides search areas, sets altitudes, and hands fine navigation to the autopilot while retaining the option to take control of any airframe if needed. The two drones fitted with smoke-release devices provide immediate options for area marking, support to discreet riverbank crossings, or visual signaling for dismounted units.

Managing up to 25 drones requires strict antenna discipline and optimal placement of emitters on the mast; otherwise radiation lobes can self-mask near the water surface. Stability of the river craft during takeoff and recovery was addressed with heading-keeping and speed-reduction procedures to limit roll during critical windows. Finally, the hybrid power setup, portable batteries plus ship power, directly sets the rhythm of rotations by allowing short charging cycles without constraining mission conduct.

Tactically, the concept turns the river craft into a mobile sensor node able to extend the ISR bubble along waterways while keeping the main force compact and discreet. The swarm multiplies viewing angles, detects riverbank threats, controls crossing points, and monitors key infrastructure such as bridges and locks. Massed numbers add redundancy and resilience against losses or localized jamming. Smoke marking, uncommon on micro-UAS, adds immediate support to mask a short movement, create a reference point on the bank, or distract during a crossing phase. Running the system with one operator, while demanding careful ergonomics, reduces personnel needs and simplifies integration on a craft where every workstation counts.

Next steps are defined. Trials will continue from a Serval vehicle, with a demonstration planned at the French Army Presentation in mid-October. Moving from river to land will test how the concept translates to a protected wheeled platform, measure radio shadow effects in urban or semi-open terrain, and check detailed integration with existing C2 loops. The challenge is not only to launch more airframes, but to inject usable data at the right level, neither too early nor too late, without overloading theater networks.

The fast spread of lightweight drone swarms, observed in Ukraine and the Middle East, drives adoption of flexible, low-cost solutions able to operate from ordinary carriers, here an engineer craft and next a new-generation armored vehicle. For European forces, combining common platforms with a heterogeneous drone fleet aligns with open architectures and intra-coalition interoperability. It addresses a battlespace dense with opposing sensors, where freedom of action depends on dispersion, redundancy, and decision speed. A swarm launched from a river may appear modest at strategic scale, yet it reflects a broader move toward modular ISR packages deployable in many settings that complicate an opponent’s planning and enhance conventional deterrence credibility.