Karlsborg / Sweden,
Spring 2025 – Coinciding with the first autonomous MMCM Primary System Delivery
by OCCAR to the United Kingdom (UK), munition from the MMCM mine hunting programme
was successfully fired at the Swedish Test Centre (FMV) in Motala Lake.
The aim of the
testing exercise was to have a high visibility demonstration event that would
reassure OCCAR customer nations, France and UK, of the progress made of the Neutralisation
process that will be delivered for the Final Operational Capability of MMCM.
The munition
was attached to an ad-hoc target by a tele-operated underwater Remotely
Operated Vehicle (ROV) in accordance with the MMCM Neutralisation Concept of Use.
It also demonstrates the cutting-edge end-to-end concept “man away from the
menace” that will become a reality thanks to MMCM.
This
successful trial, demonstrating the excellent cooperation between Thales (prime
contractor), SAAB (sub-contractor in charge of the (ROV) and Mine
Neutralisation System (MNS) and OCCAR, was carried out with the presence of
French and British customers (DGA and DE&S) and final clients (French and
UK Navies). It was the first live firing exercise performed in a real “operational like”
environment.
On 25 March,
2025, the munition successfully passed two major milestones namely the Critical
Design Review (CDR) and Test Readiness Review (TRR) allowing the MNS to start
its qualification phase.
MMCM (Maritime
Mine Counter Measure) is the world’s first autonomous mine hunting system.
After threat detection and localisation, the ROV’s aim is to identify and then
neutralise the mine with the MNS (munition).