Giving a glimpse into the future mine countermeasures operations of the UK Royal Navy, a minehunting ‘mothership’ and autonomous vessels procured by the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD’s) Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) organisation have been trialled together for the first time, DE&S announced on 4 July 2023.
The mothership, Stirling Castle, is the former offshore supply vessel MV Island Crown, which was acquired by the MoD in January 2023 and was converted into a platform for operating mine countermeasures maritime autonomous systems (MCM MAS) by May 2023.
The autonomous vessels, meanwhile, are the Royal Navy Motor Boats Apollo, Hydra and Hazard, which have been acquired over the last few years for autonomous trials with a particular view to MCM operations.
A week-long trial with these vessels was carried out by DE&S and the navy off the coast of Portland in Dorset (probably in June), the main aim of which was to prove that autonomous vessels could be hosted on board Stirling Castle and eventually controlled or remotely piloted from the ship.
This future model for RN MCMC operations removes the threat to naval personnel by keeping them well away from any mine threat, leaving autonomous systems to operate in the danger zone. The use of autonomous systems also allows more extensive searches of the sea.
Rear Admiral Ivan Finn, the RN’s director for acquisitions, was quoted in a navy press release as saying, “These trials mark a key milestone in the delivery of the Royal Navy’s Mine Hunting Capability programme.
“Following her rapid procurement and delivery at the start of the year, RFA Stirling Castle has now embarked her first autonomous mine countermeasures systems,” he continued. “This has been achieved through the hard work of her ship’s company, the Maritime Autonomous System Trials Team, the Defence Equipment and Support delivery team, and our industry partners.
“We can now look forward to having Maritime Autonomous Systems permanently embarked and ready for operations over the coming months.”
The mothership/autonomous vessel teaming will begin to replace the RN’s traditional mine countermeasures vessels (MCMVs), instead exploiting a series of advanced payloads such as towed sonars and remotely operated mine neutralisation systems from a remote command centre.
The RN’s seven Sandown-class MCMVs are due to be retired between now and 2031, while the RN’s Hunt-class MCMVs are due to be retired between 2029 and 2031.
Stirling Castle will officially join the Royal Fleet Auxiliary following a naming ceremony in August.
Peter Felstead
