France's Exail Develops Neptis to Extend Naval Surveillance With Long-Endurance Oryx Surface Drones.

French company Exail has developed Neptis, a maritime surveillance system designed to coordinate multiple uncrewed surface vessels and sensors deployed across different environments. Combining the new Oryx family of autonomous vessels with command-and-control software, the system aims to extend maritime surveillance coverage without systematically deploying crewed warships. This architecture is intended to help navies maintain a prolonged presence in sensitive areas while keeping their naval assets available for other missions.

Exail’s Oryx O-16, H-8, and H-9 uncrewed surface vessels are designed to extend maritime surveillance through the Neptis system while reducing reliance on crewed warships for routine monitoring missions. ( Picture Source: Exail)

Neptis addresses several operational requirements, including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), anti-submarine warfare (ASW), critical undersea infrastructure protection, and aerial drone detection. The system relies on networking sensors capable of collecting information on the surface, underwater, and in the air. The collected data is intended to be consolidated into a common operational picture, allowing operators to monitor several areas and adjust drone missions according to detected activities.

Announced by Exail on October 9, 2026, Neptis builds on the integration principles developed for UMIS, the French company's mine countermeasures system. UMIS coordinates different autonomous vehicles, their sensors and communications within a common architecture. With Neptis, this approach is extended to a broader range of maritime surveillance operations, particularly around port approaches, exclusive economic zones and areas containing strategic infrastructure.

The system relies on a command-and-control (C2) component responsible for supervising the unmanned vessels and centralizing the information they collect. The configuration demonstrated by Exail supports vehicle supervision, tactical track visualization and operator-led information processing. The architecture also provides for mission planning, classification, advanced data fusion and interoperability with naval command systems, with further development depending on customer requirements. Decisions concerning missions and the reassignment of assets remain under human control.

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Neptis uses three uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) from the Oryx family, each designed to meet different deployment requirements. The H-8, measuring 7.71 meters in length, is intended for coastal missions and local force protection. The 9-meter H-9 offers payload capacity suited to multi-sensor surveillance missions. The O-16, measuring 15.75 meters, is designed for extended offshore operations, particularly those requiring towed acoustic sensors or the deployment of other autonomous vehicles.

The three models also differ in endurance and range. Exail specifies up to 10 days of endurance and a range of 1,000 nautical miles for the H-8, compared with 20 days and 2,000 nautical miles for the H-9. The O-16 offers up to 30 days of endurance and a range of 3,500 nautical miles. These figures vary according to speed, onboard payloads and towed equipment. All three models support autonomous navigation under human supervision and communications enabling operations beyond visual line of sight.

The onboard equipment is selected according to mission requirements. For anti-submarine warfare, Oryx vessels can carry towed sonar arrays designed to detect and track underwater contacts. Critical infrastructure protection missions may involve side-scan sonars, magnetometers or remotely operated underwater vehicles to monitor the seabed. For counter-drone operations, Exail envisages integrating air-surveillance radars, radio-frequency sensors and electro-optical cameras. Their role is to detect and track threats before transmitting information to the assets responsible for any subsequent interception.

The operational purpose of Neptis is to distribute detection assets across several areas without committing an equivalent number of crewed vessels. Drones equipped with acoustic sensors could extend surveillance of underwater approaches, while others monitor surface movements around a naval base or offshore installations. This arrangement is intended to improve surveillance continuity and accelerate the transmission of detected contacts to command centers. It could also reduce crew exposure in areas presenting elevated risks.

Exail draws on experience gained with its DriX and Inspector families, whose unmanned vessels have collectively traveled more than 1.5 million nautical miles and accumulated 300,000 operating hours. More than 90 units have been sold worldwide. These systems have participated in exercises and activities involving the U.S. Navy, NATO and the French Navy. The company also plans to open a new production facility in southern France to increase its manufacturing capacity for uncrewed surface vessels.

Neptis is being developed as the protection of underwater infrastructure and maritime communication routes receives growing attention in European security planning. In the Baltic Sea, NATO has launched its Baltic Sentry initiative to strengthen the surveillance of critical infrastructure by combining naval and aerial assets with autonomous systems. In this context, the ability to maintain sensor coverage over extended periods without deploying additional crewed warships could be relevant to allied navies. A central challenge will be integrating these assets into existing command networks so that the information collected can support operational decisions.

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Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience studying conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests include security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.