DriX

Exail's DriX is the commercial-surface entry of the maritime cohort: an autonomous surface vessel for hydrographic survey and defense mine countermeasures, running the CortiX autonomy stack (supervised autonomous navigation and obstacle avoidance, fusing camera, infrared, LiDAR, and radar across surface and underwater). It is made by Exail, the merged ECA Group and iXblue entity (France), and is dual-use across survey and defense. DEPLOY records it at the vehicle level (the DriX USV, not the Exail parent). It is sold to survey operators and navies on contract; there is no consumer price.

Readiness

DriX is internal use only (not for retail), no capability claims are on file, 1 verified deployment is on file, and no incidents are on record.

Availability

internal-only

Internal use only (not for retail).

see evidence →

Price honesty

no-price

No price points on file for DriX.

see evidence →

Capability honesty

no-claims

No reviewed capability claims on file for DriX.

see evidence →

Real-world use

commercial

Maturity: commercial. 1 verified deployment in the registry.

see evidence →

Safety record

no-incidents

No incidents on record. 1 verified deployment on file.

What it claims to do

No reviewed capability claims on file.

Price

No reviewed price points on file.

Real-world use

• Toulon operated by Exail

Safety record

No incidents on record. 1 verified deployment on file.

Privacy

No privacy practices disclosed or on file for DriX.

Specs

notes

• Verified: Exail (the merged ECA Group + iXblue, France) makes the DriX USV family - the strongest commercial candidate in the maritime set. CortiX autonomy provides supervised autonomous navigation + obstacle avoidance; autonomy is the primary differentiator, not a sensor add-on. Government/defense users: NOAA (Thomas Jefferson integration; OECI selection), British Antarctic Survey, Polish Navy, SHOM, Ifremer. maturity=commercial (mature).
• Scale (don't conflate - cap-flag): Exail cites 100,000+ hours at sea + 1,000,000+ nm of autonomous navigation across 25+ countries - but these are the broader CortiX-PLATFORM totals; a separate Exail page cites 15,000+ DriX-SPECIFIC hours and 20+ DriX units since 2017. Both are vendor-reported; do NOT conflate the platform-wide totals with DriX-specific figures.
• Entity scoping: Scope the entity to the DriX USV family; corporate parent = Exail. (Same scoping discipline as HUGIN under Kongsberg.)

specs

DriX USV series: autonomous surface vessel for hydrographic survey + defense mine countermeasures. CortiX autonomy stack: supervised autonomous navigation + obstacle-avoidance (camera/IR/LiDAR/radar, surface + underwater). Made by Exail (the merged ECA Group + iXblue entity, France). Dual-use (survey + defense).

max_speed

14 kt

weight_kg

1380

formFactor

maritime (autonomous SURFACE vessel / USV; hydrographic survey + defense MCM; mature commercial)

What's under the hood

No brain on file for DriX.

Frequently asked questions

Is the DriX actually available for purchase?

Not available to consumers. In internal use by Exail.Source: Exail DriX USV series (CortiX autonomy; 25+ countries; supervised autonomous navigation + obstacle avoidance)

What does the DriX cost?

Not announced.

Where is the DriX being used?

DriX is in use at: Toulon operated by Exail.Source: Exail

Is the DriX safe?

No incidents on record across 1 verified deployment.

How does the DriX handle privacy?

No privacy practices disclosed or on file for DriX.

Who makes the DriX?

DriX is made by Exail, based in La Garde, Var, France.Source: Exail DriX USV series (CortiX autonomy; 25+ countries; supervised autonomous navigation + obstacle avoidance)

Video

Compare side by side

• DriX vs Saronic USV (Corsair / Mirage / Marauder)by Saronic Technologies · maritime_surface
• DriX vs Saildrone USV (Explorer / Voyager / Surveyor)by Saildrone · maritime_surface

Sources

1. Exail DriX USV series (CortiX autonomy; 25+ countries; supervised autonomous navigation + obstacle avoidance) · https://www.exail.com/product-range/drix-series-uncrewed-surface-vessels ↗
2. NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson tests DriX autonomous surface vehicle · https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/updates/noaa-ship-thomas-jefferson-tests-innovative-drix-autonomous-surface-vehicle/ ↗
3. NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute chooses DriX USV · https://www.exail.com/news/noaa-ocean-exploration-cooperative-institute-chooses-drix-usv-help-build-next-generation-ocean ↗
4. DriX H-8 · https://www.exail.com/product/drix-h8-medium-range-usv ↗
5. Exail official YouTube (@Exail_), embedded under standard YouTube embed terms. oEmbed author_url verified 2026-06-04. · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyqFoRZMm0c ↗ · 2026-06-04
6. Exail · https://www.exail.com/ ↗
7. DRIX Autonomous Surface Vehicle | Exail · https://www.exail.com/product/drix/ ↗