Speaker
Description
The sea mines are in the rank of the most infamous weapons of the war history and they are back again stronger than ever.
The 20th century witnessed the technical evolution of mines as well as the evolution of systems and platforms to counter them. Mine CounterMeasures (MCM) run after the evolution of the threat in an overwhelming technological competition.
Since the very end of the 20th century, the most advanced Navies together with Industries undertook studies aimed to “reduce the risk for crews” involved in MCM operations: with this focus some Navies aimed to keep the man out the minefield using Maritime Unmanned Systems (MUS).
Today, after twenty years of evolution of MUS, the dilemma is: “Is it possible to keep the man out of the minefield?”
Even though some stakeholders affirm that MCM can be conducted in a fully autonomous way, the truth is that the technologies are far enough to deliver a capability barely comparable to the conventional MCM Platforms in terms of effectiveness and reliability.
Taking into account these considerations, ITN and INTERMARINE are conducting a feasibility study on a new platform able “to provide the optimal pairing of manned and unmanned systems for MCM operations”. This challenge takes the name of “New Generation MCM Vessel (NGMV)”: the main feature of the project is to keep the shock resistance and underwater low signatures of legacy minehunters, while enhancing a massive use of MUS as extraordinary force multipliers and technological gap fillers thanks to a modular approach of platforms.
