Royal Navy Expands Autonomous Mine Warfare Fleet

The Royal Navy has taken delivery of Adventure, the second of four planned remotely-controlled boats intended to modernize the UK’s autonomous mine warfare capabilities.

Adventure joins its sister vessel, Ariadne, as a central component of the Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) programme. This Anglo-French collaboration, delivered by the international group OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’Armement/Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation), utilizes advanced crewless systems to identify and neutralize underwater threats without placing personnel in direct danger.

Classified as a primary system, the vessel acts as a carrier for various uncrewed survey and mine warfare payloads. This includes the SAMDIS, a towed synthetic aperture multiview sonar designed for rapid, high-standard seabed mapping. The system is engineered for high-complexity maritime settings and remains operational in conditions up to Sea State 4, involving waves as high as 2.5 meters.

Missions are directed by mine warfare experts from a portable operations centre. The handover ceremony took place at Turnchapel in Plymouth, where Commodore Michael Wood, Senior Responsible Owner for the UK programme, accepted the vessel on behalf of the Royal Navy.

He says the advent of the second craft marked “an important step forward – and showed the power of the enterprise – with OCCAR, Royal Navy, the National Armaments Director Group, Thales and Saab working collaboratively and transparently to one purpose, and responding to the urgent need to prepare this world-class capability for any operational deployment.”

Integrated with a dedicated Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), the system allows for both identification and neutralization training at sea. This expanded mission suite, developed through the collaboration of the Royal Navy, Thales, and Saab, aims to enhance overall operational effectiveness while ensuring personnel safety during mine countermeasure activities.