First Mine Hunting Demonstrator Delivered to UK Royal Navy

The system, which comprises an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV), towed sonar and a portable operation center, is now commencing rigorous capability development trials By DA Staff / 14 Dec 2021

Discover Leading Defense Technology Solutions

Discover cutting-edge solutions from leading global suppliers
SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT
First-MMCM-Demonstrator-Delivered-to-the-Royal-Navy
Follow DA

The Royal Navy has received an advanced remotely-operated mine-hunting demonstrator as part of the joint Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) program between the U.K. and France. France has also received a demonstrator system.

Now in the hands of the Royal Navy, the system, which comprises an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV), towed sonar and a portable operation center, is commencing rigorous capability development trials. 

The demonstrator was officially handed over to the Royal Navy in Plymouth on 23rd November by teams from the U.K. Ministry of Defense (MoD)’s Defense Equipment & Support (DE&S) agency, Thales UK and OCCAR.

“I am incredibly proud of all of the dedicated team members, both current and previous, who have worked collaboratively with their counterparts from France, OCCAR and Industry to make this happen,” said Andy Lapsley, Mine Hunting Capability team leader at DE&S.

“This world-class equipment is now in the hands of the Royal Navy, who have just begun the complex activity required to fully exploit its cutting-edge performance.”

Sea mines constitute a growing threat and users of the system will be able to detect and neutralize mines from miles away, ensuring they can keep vital sea lanes open, with much-reduced risk to ships and the lives of sailors.

“It is exciting to see the first delivery to the Royal Navy from the MMCM project. The future of mine warfare is here: the Royal Navy’s Mine Hunting Capability program is real; it’s happening; it’s delivering,” said Commodore Steve Prest Royal Navy, Deputy Director Navy Acquisition. “We have a lot to learn about this transformational approach to mine warfare, but there is much, much more to come.”

The demonstrator will enter an Operational Evaluation alongside further MMCM systems being delivered through a £184 million U.K. MoD investment agreed last year, which is supporting around 215 jobs in the U.K.

As well as at Thales UK sites in Somerset and Plymouth, jobs are also sustained in the wider supply chain at L3 Harris in Portsmouth, Stonehaven in Aberdeen and Alba Ultrasound in Glasgow.

“The delivery of the MMCM demonstrator systems to the U.K. and France is an important milestone for the program,” said Vice Admiral Chris Gardner, Director General Ships at DE&S. “This is a powerful example of how the joint commitment of the two Nations to work together under the auspices of the 2010 Lancaster House agreement can deliver world-class equipment for our Armed Forces.”

Eventually, the new mine-hunting capabilities are designed to replace crewed Mine Counter-Measure Vessels, such as the Royal Navy’s Hunt and Sandown class ships, with autonomous systems.

Posted by DA Staff Connect & Contact

Latest Articles

C5ISR & the Evolution of Situational Awareness in Defense Operations

Elistair explores how C5ISR integrates command, intelligence, and combat systems to enhance situational awareness and decision-making in modern military operations

Jul 16, 2025
RF Drone Detection Solution Selected for Integration into C-UAS Capability

Metis will supply a NATO consumer with its Skyperion Radio Frequency (RF) drone detection components for defending airspace, infrastructure and installations against rogue drones

Jul 16, 2025
Static Calibration Techniques for Silicon Designs Accelerometers

Learn how to perform quick, accurate static calibration of Silicon Designs MEMS DC accelerometers using only a voltmeter and gravity, no specialized equipment required

Jul 16, 2025
Disasters Expo USA & Resilient City Expo Co-Locating in Houston

Disasters Expo USA and Resilient City Expo will take place on November 5–6, 2025, bringing professionals to Houston to address crisis response and long-term resilience

Jul 15, 2025
General Digital’s Modular Approach to Rugged Display Design

General Digital outlines how its flexible design approach delivers rugged, customer-tailored military displays, rigorously tested in-house even when formal MIL-STD certification is not required

Jul 15, 2025
Precision Underwater Sensing for Critical Naval & Security Missions

Defense Advancement showcases Impact Subsea's underwater sensing technologies for naval and security missions

Jul 15, 2025

Featured Content

Q&A: How Revector Supports Defense with Mobile Intelligence

This Q&A provides insight into Revector’s technology, detailing its role in covert surveillance, threat detection, and integration with defense and security systems

Jul 14, 2025
New Oscilloquartz Optical Cesium Clocks Enhance Network Timing Precision

Adtran is expanding its Oscilloquartz portfolio with the new OSA 3200 SP and OSA 3250 ePRC optical cesium models, providing improved holdover and simplified maintenance for telecom, data center, utility, and defense networks

Jul 09, 2025
Teledyne FLIR OEM Whitepaper: Synthetic Data Generation for AI Object Detection

Read Teledyne FLIR OEM’s whitepaper on AIMMGen™, a defense-oriented synthetic data and AI model generation pipeline tailored to Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) and object classification tasks

Jul 03, 2025
Advancing Defense Capability Through Strategic Collaboration Defense Advancement works with major OEMs to foster collaboration and increase engagement with SMEs, to accelerate innovation and drive defense capabilities forward.