SLAMF: The French Navy's new unmanned mine warfare system

Deep dive into 'SLAMF', the new unmanned mine warfare system of the French Navy (Marine Nationale) with the commander of the Mine Warfare Flotilla. This system combines unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) and unmanned surface vehicles (USV) and will enable sailors to operate outside of the mine field.
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The SLAMF program will replace all legacy mine warfare platforms (Tripartite-class mine hunters, sonar towing vessels, diver support vessels). The SLAMF program will help secure the deployment of the French Navy’s strategic units (nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines and aircraft carrier) and protect access to French ports. It can also support the deployment of a naval action force, secure the evacuation of nationals by sea, participate in crisis prevention or intervene in a contested environment.
This first part of the SLAMF program (known as MMCM in the UK), is the result of a Franco-British cooperation and is part of the Lancaster House military agreement (2010). The contract for the design, development and production of the prototypes (one per country) was signed in March 2015 between Thales and OCCAR on behalf of the two countries.
The architecture of a SLAMF system is composed of two USVs, one equipped with a towed sonar and the other with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), and two UAVs, responsible for detecting, classifying and locating mines. The remotely operated robot (MUMMS by Saab) is used to identify and neutralize mines. Exail, a Thales subcontractor, produces the UUVs equipped with Thales sonars.
The French Navy is set to take delivery of 8 SLAMF modules by 2030 as well as 6 MCM motherships for UAV/USV/UUV known as “bâtiments de guerre des mines” (BGDM) and 5 EOD divers support vessels known as “bâtiments base plongeurs démineurs nouvelle generation” (BBPD NG).
We also cover the E-POC: Expeditionary MCM Solution for the French Navy. Thales’s e-POC demonstrator is an easily transportable solution that will ultimately enable the French Navy to deploy underwater drones for mine countermeasures missions in any theatre of operations. It will provide a flexible mission management capability from outside the zone of operations, helping to keep naval personnel out of harm’s way. Thales e-POC comes in a small form-factor (akin to a large laptop with 3 screens) that is easily transportable. It will allow naval operators to control up to three mine warfare drones. Naval News learned that the French Navy mine warfare flotilla plans to use e-POC from RHIBs.
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