In the scope of the Belgian and Royal Netherlands navies’ replacement Mine Counter Measure (rMCM) programme, Belgium Naval & Robotics (BNR), the consortium of Naval Group and ECA Group acting as the prime contractor, has demonstrated the deployment and recovery of the remotely operated INSPECTOR 125 robotic USV
According to BNR, the USV deploys laterally on each side of the mother ship, which doubles the deployment recovery capacity. The test were carried out off the French city of Toulon at day & night and in a sea state 4/5 environment with 40 knots of wind. The system is scheduled to enter production in the second half of 2022. According to the consortium, deploying and retrieving robotic drones provides the advantage of extending the action capability of ships equipped with the solution, but also of protecting personnel and ships.
Detection, identification and neutralisation of mines is to be carried out without human intervention in situ. As a result, the crews are expected to be able to rely on these drones for mine clearance operations while remaining at a safe distance. The tests brought together four subsystems designed by the consortium and allowed them to be tested in real conditions on VN REBEL, a specially chartered vessel.
JH
