Moments earlier, a target representing a surface drone slowly sank into the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, riddled with 12.7-mm machine gun bullets.

"You nailed it, Tristan!" the crew cheered the 20-year-old seaman for his perfect shot from a distance of 300 metres (984 feet).

Sailors on the Lorraine have been training in counter-drone warfare and testing new equipment, firing at aerial or surface drones singly or in groups, as well as electronic warfare exercises against aircraft simulating drones or missiles.

"We adapt our methods and equipment through innovation," said the ship's captain, Laurent Toncelli.

The threat from drones is transforming the battlefield, from Ukraine to the Red Sea and hybrid operations in the skies above Europe.

A recent spate of mysterious drone sightings over European countries has caused surging tension with Russia, which denies being behind them.

The French navy, like military forces across the continent, wants to modernise as quickly as it can against the new threats.

"It's better to have a partial but rapid response than a total one that will come too late or so late that it's obsolete," said Frederic Petit, a weapons engineer and innovation advisor to the naval chief of staff.

- Better detection -

The new equipment tested on the Lorraine is housed in a container installed at the rear on the helicopter platform, bristling with antennae, radars and optics out of bounds for visitors and photographers.

A handful of industry representatives and France's Directorate General of Armaments mill around it.

The equipment allows them to "explore jamming capabilities, increase the lethality of our weapons, particularly small-calibre ones, and integrate additional optronics to better detect the threat", the ship's commander said.

The ship's crew are testing, for example, a new firing assistance system on the two Narwhal 20-mm cannons remotely operated from the bridge, which detects and tracks targets more effectively.

On the screen, boxes with numbers appear.

"This is the percentage the system is confident is a target," said Baptiste, 21, wearing a headset to listen to orders and instructions, and holding a walkie-talkie to communicate directly with industry representatives.

"I told them I was above the threshold on my shots," he said.

- 'Full beam' -

"There are two ways (to take down drones): the old-fashioned way, like at Pearl Harbor, which is labour- and ammunition-intensive, and the refined technical approach, where we aim for a strike on the first shot," said artillery officer Francois, 36, from the operations nerve centre on the frigate.

The navy is combining the two approaches, as well as improving accuracy.

"We are strengthening our capacity to create a steel wall," added Francois.

"Since 2025, we've installed additional machine guns at the rear of the frigate and during this exercise we've tested twin-barrel machine guns that are even more efficient, with more ammunition, higher firing rates and better aiming aids."

Beyond focusing on short-range destruction of drones, "electronic warfare and jamming are effective methods" to neutralise them from a distance, without having to fire the very costly Aster missiles housed in the bow, said Petit.

Jamming theoretically allows several targets -- like a swarm of drones -- to be neutralised at once.

"The cannon aims at only one target, whereas we target an area," explained Kevin, a 33-year-old electronic warfare operator.

"It's like a full beam in your eyes at night: you're blinded. It's the same for the drone."

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NAVAL GROUP