The Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR) has handed over Rigel, an uncrewed surface vessel (USV), to the French Navy.
This transfer under the Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) programme took place on 21 October 2025. It marks a critical step in the collaborative initiative between Thales, OCCAR, the French Ministry of Armed Forces, and the UK Ministry of Defence.
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Rigel is the second USV received by France following the delivery of Canopus ten months earlier.
The arrival of Rigel allows the French Navy to continue its progression towards a fully operational mine countermeasure capability, OCCAR said in a LinkedIn post.
“This delivery reflects the unwavering commitment of all stakeholders and reiterates the continued development of enabling a disruptive concept for detection and destruction in the field of naval mines.
“It also reinforces the strategic partnership between France and the United Kingdom (UK) under the Lancaster House Treaties. It highlights the value of joint defence procurement and operational interoperability in highly critical missions such as safeguarding deterrence and European maritime interests,” OCCAR added.
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By GlobalDataThe bi-lateral MMCM programme was initiated in late 2010 under the Lancaster House Treaties between France and the UK.
The programme gained traction in March 2015 when OCCAR awarded a demonstration phase contract after a competitive tendering process.
The primary goal of this programme is to provide an agile and interoperable MMCM that can operate remotely from mother ships or from a command-and-control centre either on board ship or deployed ashore.
In addition, the programme seeks to provide guidance for replacing existing mine counter measure vessels when they retire from service while demonstrating potential lifecycle cost benefits of delivering mine countermeasure capability in an innovative way.
Earlier in 2025, Thales UK completed delivery of Ariadne, the first fully autonomous maritime mine countermeasures vessel, to the Royal Navy as part of the same MMCM programme.
In February, Thales handed over the first series production system of mine countermeasure drones to the Marine Nationale. This transfer forms a part of the Franco-British MMCM programme.
