The British Royal Navy has commissioned a new autonomous mine hunting system into active service, enabling the deployment of uncrewed technology to locate and neutralise naval mines.
Named SWEEP, the three systems will enhance maritime safety by removing personnel from hazardous mine-clearing operations.
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The system was developed by Dorset-based TKMS Atlas UK under a £25m ($34m) contract.
Royal Navy mine and threat exploitation group commanding officer commander Dan Herridge said: “The return of the ability to remotely counter sophisticated mines that are more difficult to detect by sonar, is a crucial milestone for the Royal Navy’s Mine Countermeasures capability.
“To be able to do this remotely without putting people in harm’s way is a key tenet of the Mine Hunting Capability Programme.
“The acceptance of SWEEP is an exciting milestone ahead of the Royal Navy conducting training, operational evaluation, and assurance of the systems prior to deployment.”
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By GlobalDataComprising an uncrewed surface vessel and advanced payloads, SWEEP can be remotely operated.
SWEEP employs advanced technology to counter modern digital sea mines, which are designed to detect and target nearby ships and submarines.
Its “sense and avoid” functionality allows it to operate alongside other autonomous systems, including the maritime mine counter measures (MMCM) system and SeaCat uncrewed underwater vehicles, to ensure safer navigation for Royal Navy vessels and secure international waters.
Royal Navy mine hunting capability programme director Jonathan Reed-Beviere said: “The Royal Navy receiving its first fully autonomous minesweeping system is truly transformational. The uncrewed system can replicate a ship’s signature, tricking sea mines into detonating safely.
“The portable, flexible system is vital to protecting ships from modern mine threats, operated remotely from land or sea, it will keep our sailors out of danger and will restore a minesweeping capability [that] the Royal Navy has lacked since 2005.”
In May 2025, Team Fisher began implementing its augmented training agreement with the Royal Navy, aimed at delivering marine engineering instruction.
The consortium, led by Capita, includes partners such as Raytheon UK, Elbit Systems UK, Fujitsu, the University of Lincoln, and several smaller UK suppliers.
