Thales Australia, Defence, Academia and SME partnership delivers foundational technologies for autonomous littoral mine countermeasures
Introducing "Mine Counter Measures in a Day," a three-year R&D project launched in 2020 and recently demonstrated in Sydney. Funded by Trusted Autonomous Systems and led by Thales in partnership with DSTG, academia, and industry, the project invested over $14M to develop autonomous vehicles equipped with advanced sensors for mine countermeasures in very shallow waters, enhancing safety and mission speed while supporting Defence’s sovereign priorities.
In an Australian first, the ‘Mine Counter Measures in a Day’ project explored autonomous vehicle navigation in the shallow water zone; an operationally complex area due to turbulent water conditions, changing turbidity and depth of water.
Deployable from sea or land, and operational in the most challenging coastal conditions, the autonomous system of systems maps the minefield and identifies Mine Like Objects (MLO) before deploying a neutralisation (simulated) package to counter the identified targets.
The Mine Countermeasures (MCM) in a day Project was a unique, multi-partner activity with the objective of developing a solution which puts the safety of Defence personnel at its core. Thales Australia’s 40+ year pedigree in sonar technologies, coupled with the innovative thinking of Academia, SMEs and DSTG, has delivered the building blocks of an Australian first Robotic and Autonomous System littoral mine clearance solution to the Royal Australian Navy.
The MCM in a day project has been an exciting project for our engineers and has enabled us to establish a pipeline for autonomous systems talent; building the workforce of the future.
“At Trusted Autonomous Systems, we are incredibly proud of the hard work, dedication, and collaboration between our partners that has resulted in the successful delivery of the Thales-led MCM in a Day project. It has been our privilege to oversee this journey, which was made possible by the close collaboration between partners across Defence, Industry and Academia. The potential improvements to our war fighters’ safety, as well as the significant technical advances created by this project, will continue to see benefits for Australia well into the future”
Glen Schafer - CEO, Trusted Autonomous Systems.
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