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French Navy Receives First Marine Mine-Hunter Drone

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The French Navy has received its first mine warfare surface drone as part of the  Future Mine Countermeasures System (SLAMF) program.

The drone includes a towed sonar connected to a portable operations center located in Brest, the country’s second-largest military port.

The system’s initial operational capability is slated for the end of 2025.

It will allow the French Navy to operate the system in “complex environments, including uncrewed sonar survey missions up to sea state 4 to maintain precise mapping of the sea floor,” according to the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation.

The SLAMF program intends to replace current resources such as mine hunters, sonar towing vessels, and mine clearance diver base vessels.

It will contribute to ensuring freedom of maneuver of the French Navy’s nuclear deterrent force units such as aircraft carriers and ballistic missile submarines. 

The system will also contribute to protecting access to French ports, deployment of naval forces, and intervention in and prevention of crises in a contested environment.

 An additional five platforms will be procured under the program.

Maritime Mine Counter Measures System

SLAMF has been carried out within the framework of the Franco-British Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) program.

The MMCM is the world’s first fully-integrated drone-based mine countermeasures system.

Eight such systems will be delivered under the 430-million-euro ($450-million) program, with the French and British Navy each receiving a set of four.

The Thales system includes a surface drone, a towed sonar linked with a portable operations center, and a remotely-operated vehicle to neutralize mines.

It uses the M-Cube mission management system to integrate and control surface and underwater unmanned systems.

Underwater Drone, Sonar

The Thales towed sonar reportedly features a multi-aspect synthetic aperture to reduce false positives.

As part of the program, France is buying eight extended versions of A18-M Autonomous Underwater Vehicles from Exail, which will be integrated with the SAMDIS 600 sonar from Thales.

“Thales’s new compact SAMDIS sonar is optimised for the detection of all naval mine threats, down to deeper waters,” according to Thales.

“Featuring a unique advanced multi-view capability, it captures images from multiple angles in a single pass. 

Integrated with the Mi-MAP sonar data analysis software and Artificial Intelligence-driven algorithms, the SAMDIS 600 achieves exceptionally high detection and classification probabilities, delivering superior performance, which increases operational tempo and efficiency.”

UK Mine-Hunter Drone

Both navies have been evaluating the systems, including with sea trials, since the end of 2021.

The system being developed for the Royal Navy was trialed for the first time toward the end of last year, the UK Ministry of Defence announced in December. 

It will be handed over to the British Navy in 12 months following upgrades and retrofitting by Thales. 

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