Royal IHC partners with French firm to work on EU-backed mine countermeasure project

Dutch shipbuilder Royal IHC has partnered with French tech solutions provider Elwave to work on the European Extended Mine Countermeasures (E=MCM) program.

The program is an ambitious initiative, co-funded by the European Defence Fund (EDF), to enhance naval mine countermeasure (MCM) capabilities. Specifically, the partners will collaborate on a high-end seabed crawler that will be equipped with Elwave’s Octopulse sensor, powered by the biomimicry-based CEDAR technology.

Royal IHC will provide its knowledge in robust subsea crawler technology and the knowledge gained in underwater mining, while Elwave will incorporate its system, which enables real-time detection of mines, UXO, cables, and seabed structures.

According to the partners, the system can enhance mine detection and classification, even in challenging conditions such as high acoustic noise, electromagnetic interference, or poor visibility.

“Partnering with Royal IHC presents Elwave an opportunity to integrate our sensors into one of the most robust seabed crawlers in the world, enabling even greater achievements,” Gary Bagot, Sales Director, Elwave.

Octopulse is a revolutionary imaging sensor that draws inspiration from the electrical sensory perception of tropical freshwater fishes. The compact and lightweight system is suited for incorporation into a wide range of underwater vehicles and is also highly suited to fixed-site installation.

The E=MCM project is led by Naval Group Belgium, a subsidiary of French shipbuilder Naval Group. Under the program, 21 European partners will work together in the consortium to reach a European sovereign capacity in future mine warfare.

The E=MCM project aims at closing development gaps for capabilities of the new generation of toolbox (toolbox 2.0) to deliver better, faster, safer and more resilient MCM operations. It aims at designing, prototyping, and demonstrating a single system-of-systems architecture with scalable unmanned autonomous toolboxes as well as intelligent platforms and decision-support tools for mine-counter measures. The objective is to deliver new MCM capabilities prototypes ready for industrialization in the European Union.