France develops DAUPHIN airborne naval decoy

France’s Direction générale de l’armement (DGA) is developing DAUPHIN, an off-board active decoy designed to protect naval ships from radar-guided anti-ship missiles. Thales is responsible for its electronic warfare payload, while Lacroix is developing the aerial platform and launch arrangement. Details highlighted around Euronaval 2026 describe a multicopter carrying equipment intended to produce a deceptive radar target away from the vessel being defended.

Work on DAUPHIN began in late 2024. The DGA-led programme has demonstrated a high-power electronic transmission block, but the aerial vehicle has not completed its first flight. Lacroix is expected to produce the initial multicopter prototype for flight trials during 2027; launch equipment selection and shipboard integration remain later development and contracting steps.

Carrying an active radio-frequency decoy away from a vessel changes where a radar-guided missile may perceive a target. A ship’s fixed electronic countermeasures and expendable decoys can form part of its wider defensive suite, while an aircraft-borne emitter would operate at a position separate from the protected hull. DAUPHIN is intended to use that separation to present an alternative radar target during an attack, subject to the performance of its still-developing airborne equipment.

The proposed equipment combines a launch mechanism, a multicopter, and a radio-frequency deception payload. The concept uses a pyrotechnic ejection stage to deploy the aerial vehicle, after which the multicopter is intended to maintain the position needed for its electronic mission. The aerial design and final launcher choice remain under development, and decisions on whether deployed vehicles can be recovered and reused have not been completed.

Thales is developing a digital radio-frequency memory system for the payload. This class of equipment receives radar emissions and can retransmit modified versions of the signal to create deceptive returns. In a protective application, the intention is to influence what the incoming weapon’s seeker perceives, making the decoy appear to be a ship-sized target rather than a relatively small aircraft carrying electronics. The system is therefore distinct from a conventional passive reflector that relies only on its physical response to radar illumination.

The design also incorporates a solid-state high-power amplifier for the emitted signal. Programme descriptions say the objective is to simulate a radar signature comparable to that of an FDI frigate or larger vessel. That is a development target reported for the electronic payload, not evidence of a completed live engagement trial against an operational anti-ship missile. The effectiveness of a decoy will depend on how the equipment performs against particular seekers and conditions during later qualification.

An antenna is intended to determine the direction of the relevant radar signal, with the multicopter adjusting its position to support the deception function. DAUPHIN is designed to carry out its task autonomously after launch without maintaining a control data link to the host ship. That operating concept could reduce dependence on continuous communication during an engagement, but it raises corresponding requirements for secure configuration, robust onboard control, and reliable behaviour when conditions change.

The multicopter’s mass, battery power, endurance, and stability must be compatible with the electronic payload’s demands. Sustained transmission also introduces power and thermal-management requirements. A shipboard launcher would need to fit available deck space and withstand the marine environment, while its handling arrangements must satisfy safety requirements. These are integration and qualification issues, not characteristics demonstrated by an operational DAUPHIN installation.

Five DGA technical centres are involved in reducing the programme’s technological risks. Lacroix brings experience in naval countermeasures, while Thales is developing the radio-frequency payload and coordinating with its UK specialists. Earlier Franco-British work under the Accolade technology demonstration programme explored related off-board decoy technology, but the companies describe DAUPHIN as a separate design with its own aircraft and integration requirements.

Lacroix previously presented the VESTA multirotor countermeasure concept in 2020. That precedent illustrates the company’s earlier interest in remote electronic decoys, but does not establish qualification of DAUPHIN’s 2026 configuration. The current effort has a defined DGA development structure, a demonstrated transmission component, and a stated 2027 timetable for first aircraft trials.

Soft-kill measures can complement hard-kill weapons carried by a warship, including surface-to-air missiles, by offering a different response to a radar-guided threat. They do not replace the need for detection, threat classification, command decisions, or the ship’s other defensive systems. A decoy is only useful when it presents an attractive alternative to the protected vessel under the circumstances of the engagement.

The developers intend DAUPHIN’s new technology to avoid restrictions arising from the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations. That industrial objective concerns control over components and future supply arrangements; it does not represent an export authorisation or an export contract. The complete system has not reached production or a confirmed shipboard acquisition stage.

The next reported milestone is Lacroix’s multicopter prototype and its planned flight trials in 2027. Performance of the deception payload must then be assessed with the airborne platform and its launch arrangement, followed by separate ship-integration decisions. The DGA has not identified a completed production configuration, in-service date, or final quantity for DAUPHIN.