Direction générale de l'armement
On 20 October 2016, as part of the 25th Euronaval Exhibition, Laurent Collet-Billon, Délégué Général pour l’Armement and Harriett Baldwin, his British counterpart, officially launched the construction phase of the « Maritime Mine Counter Measures » (MMCM) project.
The aim of MMCM is to develop a new strategic maritime mine warfare capability using naval, surface and underwater drones. The French and British Defence Ministries will thus develop, implement and qualify two identical prototypes. The French Navy and the Royal Navy will each receive a prototype in 2019.
This decision is consistent with the commitment made at the Franco-British summit in Amiens on 3 March 2016. It is based on the positive conclusions of the definition phase carried out since the MMCM contract was awarded in March 2015 to a Franco-British consortium under the leadership of Thales, after a competition led by the Organisation conjointe de coopération en matière d’armement (OCCAr). This consortium combines the best industrial expertise from both sides of the Channel among which Thales, BAE Systems, French ECA and British ASV.
The MMCM unmanned systems will be deployed either from a mother ship or from ashore. Compared to the current minehunters, the system, equipped with new generation sonars, will be at the cutting edge of innovation and will allow the personnel to remain outside the danger area. It already arouses the greatest interest of the Allied navies.
The Minister for Defence Procurement Harriett Baldwin said: “This innovative project further strengthens the UK-French defence relationship and supports cutting edge research on both sides of the Channel. The development of advanced autonomous mine counter measures capability will safeguard our strategic interests, secure around 150 jobs in the UK supply chain, and protect our brave and skilled personnel.”
Laurent Collet-Billon, the Délégué Général pour l’Armement said: "Today we launch officially and jointly the realization of an emblematic Franco-British cooperation project initiated in 2010 as part of the Lancaster House Treaty. [...] Our common objective is to deliver to our respective navies an efficient, reliable and state-of-the-art system to replace the current minehunters."
