[chrish]

Paris - The French navy made a red-faced admission on Wednesday that it had lost a multi-million-rand sonar navigation device after its cable ripped in stormy waters.

Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie confirmed a report in the satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine, and said an investigation had been launched into how the €3-million (R22,1-million) device was mislaid.

"An inquiry is underway to determine whether a technical or a human error is at the origin of this problem," she told reporters.

Le Canard Enchaine reported that the captain of the De Grasse frigate, decided against his lieutenants' advice to try out the 10-tonne sonar in rough seas, during an exercise in the southwestern Gulf of Gascony on March 24.

The top-of-the-range device - one of the most sophisticated in the world, capable of detecting an enemy submarine at a distance of 150km - was part of a $50-million underwater combat system. - Sapa-AFP