Naval Drone with Next-Gen Sonar Delivered to French Navy for Mine Warfare & Countermeasures

Thales has delivered a surface naval drone to the French Navy as part of the Franco-British Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) programme.

The Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) is equipped with a TSAM towed sonar and the SAMDIS multi-view sonar. This marks another production milestone in the MMCM programme, which is managed by OCCAR with support from the French Direction générale de l’armement (DGA) and the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). This system follows a first production delivery in December 2024, which consisted of a USV with the TSAM towed sonar, MiMap data analysis software utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the M-Cube mission management system.

The unmanned system is designed to enhance the operational performance of navies involved in mine countermeasures by significantly reducing personnel exposure to hazardous environments. The system is reported to provide a sea mine detection rate exceeding 99%, ensuring naval forces maintain operational superiority against increasingly complex threats.

Thales has been integrating end-user feedback and data from more than 3,000 hours of sea trials, conducted by the French Navy and Royal Navy since 2021, to adapt the systems to fully meet operational needs. In this process, Thales is working with the Couach shipyard to upgrade the initial surface drone prototypes.

Sébastien Guérémy, Vice-President in charge of the Underwater Systems activities at Thales, commented, “Thales is supporting the French Navy to meet the challenges of the transition towards a new operational concept for mine countermeasures. The autonomous system developed by Thales significantly improves mission efficiency while limiting the exposure of crews to mine-related risks.

“The MMCM programme increases the operational superiority of naval forces, with its M-Cube software at core, designed for fast integration of heterogeneous drones, its high-performance sensors and innovative AI algorithms, reducing operators’ cognitive load. This programme, a world first, is the result of unwavering commitment and a source of pride for our teams.”

The delivered autonomous surface drone system represents a new capability for maritime defence operations, integrating several technical and software innovations developed by Thales. These include very high-performance sensors, notably the “multi-view” SAMDIS antenna, which Thales describes as world-unique, optimizing operational performance. The system also features a crewless surface drone operated by the French Navy, a robust system that is resilient to cyber threats and approved for sensitive operations, and unique mission planning and sonar data analysis software designed to optimize operator workload.