Safran VIGY 4
Safran electro-optical/infrared surveillance camera system.
Safran VIGY 4 is a French electro-optical/infrared surveillance camera. In mid-July 2026 it was fitted to Exail's DriX O-16 uncrewed surface vessel, giving the crewless hull day-and-night visual and thermal surveillance.
Last refreshed: 24 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why are established naval sensors like the Safran VIGY 4 moving onto uncrewed vessels?
Timeline for Safran VIGY 4
Provided electro-optical/infrared surveillance during trials
Autonomous Systems: Land & Sea: Tethered drone flies from robot boatBackground
The Safran VIGY 4 is an electro-optical/infrared surveillance camera made by French defence electronics group Safran, combining day and night imaging in a single turret to give a ship or vehicle continuous visual and thermal surveillance regardless of light conditions.
Built originally for crewed naval platforms, the VIGY 4 belongs to a generation of established maritime sensors now being adapted for autonomous hulls as navies look to extend surveillance range without adding crew risk.
Exail tested the VIGY 4 in that unsupervised role for the first time in mid-July 2026, mounting it on the DriX O-16 alongside an Elistair Khronos tethered drone, pairing a proven sensor with an uncrewed surface vessel rather than a purpose-built military platform.
VIGY 4 moves onto an uncrewed hull
The VIGY 4 turret rode on Exail's DriX O-16 through sea trials that finished in mid-July 2026, sending back continuous day and night imagery while an Elistair Khronos drone watched from overhead on the same hull.
Combining day and night channels in one turret, the VIGY 4 needs no crew to operate; someone still has to interpret its feed, but nobody has to stand watch beside the camera itself. Proving that on an uncrewed hull rather than the crewed frigates and patrol boats VIGY 4 normally arms is the trial's real significance: an established naval sensor now works unsupervised.
What does the Safran VIGY 4 do?
Where has the Safran VIGY 4 been tested on an uncrewed ship?
Why integrate the VIGY 4 on an uncrewed vessel?
