Naval Group unveils SCX 26, a 2040s concept combining drone carrier and command ship, with a railgun, a 100 kW laser and over 100 VLS cells

On 3 November at Euronaval, Naval Group presented SCX 26, a concept for a next-generation combat ship: 170 m long, about 10,000 tonnes at full load, 30 knots and a range of over 8,000 nautical miles, armed with an electromagnetic railgun, a 100 kW laser and more than 100 vertical launch cells fore and aft, and intended to combine the roles of missile destroyer, drone carrier and command centre for air, surface and underwater platforms. Roughly the aft third of the hull is a hangar for storing and maintaining drones, linked to the flight deck by a large elevator, with on-board 3D printing of drone parts envisaged. The ship would carry about 150 sailors plus up to 100 staff officers and drone operators; the company describes it as an R&D initiative aimed at 2040s technology that 'does not currently entail a mandatory transition to serial production.'