The Royal Navy has just taken delivery of RNMB Adventure, its second uncrewed minehunter delivered under the Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) programme.
Thales had already handed over the first of four MMCM systems in March 2025. The suite consisted of a 12-metre uncrewed surface vessel (USV) — RNMB Ariadne — a Towed Synthetic Aperture Multiviews (TSAM) sonar, a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), and a portable operations centre (e-POC).
The MMCM Anglo-French collaboration is managed by joint arms group OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’ARmement, or Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation).
Commodore Michael Wood, Senior Responsible Owner for the UK programme, was on hand when the new boat was handed over in Plymouth a few days ago.
He called the arrival of the second system an important step forward, saying it “showed the power of the enterprise — with OCCAR, Royal Navy, the National Armaments Director Group, Thales and Saab working collaboratively and transparently to one purpose, and responding to the urgent need to prepare this world-class capability for any operational deployment.”
The uncrewed system can map seabeds using its embarked SeaCat ROV and clear mines in seas where waves are up to 8ft high, as per an RN press statement
The U.K. Ministry of Defence has invested £184 million into the €430 million programme. The MMCM project forms part of the Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) Programme seeking to transition from conventional MCM vessels to autonomous solutions.
- You can read more details on the Royal Navy website and on the Thales website