Generational Shift: How technology is shaping a step change in the future of mine counter-measures

Developments in the command and control of offboard maritime assets, and evolution of the design of the assets themselves, have opened up new avenues to navies, industry and research institutes to change the way in which they consider and conduct Mine Countermeasures (MCM) operations. However this shift, driven by the opportunity for risk reduction and a potential increase in operational tempo, requires a change in Concepts of Operations; this will affect the way both MCM vessels and the associated MCM equipment are designed and operated in the future. This paper explores how BMT and QinetiQ have investigated the changes this new disruptive technology will have on MCM operations, and the concept of operations that can be adopted to maximise the use of this technology. Working with mine warfare and autonomous systems industry leaders, along with lessons from Unmanned Warrior 2016, and drawing on the experience of operators from several navies, the team established a range of operational concepts that can be employed to clear a minefield or hunt individual mines. Detailed Operational Analysis (OA) was carried out to validate these concepts and determine the required Unmanned Vehicle (UxV) numbers and capabilities. Aligned with this approach is the development of QinetiQ’s Equipment Agnostic Mission Enabling Infrastructure Technology (EAMEITS); a flexible system which maximises the use of UxV technology without adding to the operator burden. The outcome of this work is a new breed of MCM platform design which, thanks to the significant effort in developing the concepts of operation and the underlying OA over a number of years, is able to deliver mine warfare as technology transitions from the current capability to the future. This paper outlines the road taken to arrive at this design and the technology incorporated within, the lessons learnt along the way and what this means for the future of mine countermeasures operations