NATO taps Exail for mine-clearing underwater
drones
Aug 27, 2024,
02:01 PM
An Exail K-Ster C vehicle approaches a sea mine in this artist's rendering of the technology. (Exail image)
MILAN — The NATO Support
and Procurement Agency has placed a new order for underwater robots capable of
finding and clearing naval mines to be used by two
European alliance members.
The Belgium division of
the underwater drone producer Exail Robotics announced this week that it was
awarded a $67 million contract by NSPA for the procurement of an undisclosed
number of its K-Ster C expendable mine disposal vehicles and K-Ster CT training
vehicles.
The primary user countries
of the systems will be the Netherlands and Belgium, where the K-Ster units will
also be assembled, according to a company press release.
Exail established a
production line in Oostende, Belgium, in 2022, where it has been manufacturing
different drones for both navies already as part of a modernization program to
upgrade their respective mine countermeasure capabilities.
The K-Ster C is a
lightweight vehicle equipped with a guidance system that allows precise
targeting and a potent shaped charge capable of effectively destroying all
types of mines, per company information. The other variant acquired by NSPA is
dedicated for training and is thus fitted with an inert warhead.
The drone can be operated
from a command-and-control unit based outside of the minefield, either from
land or on a ship, and can also be automatically deployed from an unmanned
surface vessel.
In the last year, NATO has
turned its attention to testing a variety of unmanned underwater technologies,
including underwater drones outfitted with 5G communications capabilities, in
different exercises to better connect surface and undersea assets.
As part of the Baltic
exercise Baltops 2024, which took place in June, U.S. and NATO forces conducted
joint mine hunting and mine detonation operations in the Baltic Sea,
culminating in an mine countermeasures combat rehearsal drill at the end.
The exercise combined over
20 surface ships, 20 unmanned systems consisting of unmanned surface and
underwater vessels, as well as two MH-60S Seahawk helicopters.
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