Thales UK’s minehunting sonars have been tested on four UK Royal Navy mine countermeasures vessels (MCMVs) that were participating in a series of joint exercises with the US Navy in the Arabian Gulf.

The four MCMVs consisted of two Hunt Class, the HMS Middleton and HMS Chiddingfold, and two Sandown Class vessels, the HMS Grimsby and HMS Pembroke.

The Hunt Class fleet were fitted with Sonar 2193, the advanced hull-mounted wideband minehunting sonar, and the Sandown Class with Sonar 2093, the variable-depth multimode sonar.

UK Mine Counter Measures Force Commander David Bence said the sonars performed exceptionally well in the challenging environmental conditions of the Arabian Gulf.

“With capabilities that complement each other, they provided a high probability of detection of sea mines from shallow to deep water in highly saline water with high ambient sea temperatures. They are world beaters,” he said.

The exercises aimed to further develop minehunting techniques of the two navies in the warm, shallow waters of the Gulf.

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