Thales and HII Partner on Next-Gen Autonomous Undersea Mine Countermeasure Capabilities

At DSEI 2025 in London, Thales and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) unveiled a new strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the development of next-generation autonomous undersea mine countermeasure (MCM) capabilities. The collaboration leverages both companies’ strengths in unmanned maritime systems, artificial intelligence (AI), and naval command-and-control (C2) architectures to address evolving threats in contested littoral environments.

Strategic Context: Shifting Naval Mine Warfare Requirements

Naval mines remain one of the most cost-effective yet disruptive threats in modern maritime warfare. With over 70 navies worldwide maintaining mine inventories, and increasing use by non-state actors and near-peer competitors alike, demand for rapid, scalable mine countermeasure solutions has surged. Traditional MCM operations—often reliant on manned vessels, divers, or tethered systems—are slow, dangerous, and resource-intensive.

The shift toward autonomous MCM reflects broader trends in naval modernization. NATO doctrine increasingly emphasizes modularity, distributed lethality, and risk reduction through unmanned platforms. In this context, the Thales-HII partnership aims to deliver an integrated system-of-systems approach that can detect, classify, identify (DCI), and neutralize mines with minimal human intervention.

Partnership Scope: Combining Complementary Technologies

The collaboration between Thales—a European leader in sonar systems and naval C4ISR—and HII’s Mission Technologies division—renowned for its REMUS family of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs)—brings together complementary capabilities across hardware integration and mission software orchestration.

Thales Contributions: Advanced synthetic aperture sonar (SAS), AI-based detection/classification algorithms (e.g., MiMap), autonomy frameworks for collaborative UxV operations.
HII Contributions: REMUS UUV platforms (REMUS 300/600/620), launch/recovery systems (LARS), autonomy stacks from its Kraken acquisition.

The joint solution is expected to integrate these assets into a modular MCM suite capable of multi-domain deployment—from surface ships or uncrewed surface vessels (USVs)—and adaptable to NATO-standardized mission planning tools such as STANAG 4586 or MCM Tactical Decision Aids.

Technical Components: From Sonar to Autonomy

The envisioned system will incorporate several key technologies:

Synthetic Aperture Sonar: Thales’ SAMDIS SAS offers high-resolution imaging critical for mine classification in cluttered seabeds. It is already fielded on the French SLAM-F program’s AUVs.
AUV Platforms: HII’s REMUS series provides proven modularity with endurance ranging from several hours to over 24 hours depending on configuration. The REMUS 620 offers up to 110 hours endurance with lithium-ion batteries.
C2 Integration: Both firms are working toward seamless plug-and-play integration with NATO MCM command suites such as Thales’ MiMap C2 system or the UK’s Maritime Autonomous Platform Exploitation (MAPLE).

This architecture supports multi-vehicle coordination—including swarming behaviors—and real-time data fusion for faster decision-making cycles during mine clearance operations.

DSEI Announcement & Future Roadmap

The announcement at DSEI marks a formalization of ongoing joint R&D efforts between the two companies. According to official statements from both firms at the event:

A demonstrator system is expected by mid-2026 for evaluation by select NATO navies.
The solution will be export-oriented but aligned with US Navy PMS-406 Unmanned Maritime Systems requirements and Royal Navy MHC transition goals post-Hunt-class decommissioning.

This timeline aligns with broader procurement cycles including the USN’s Increment II UUV programs and allied interest under initiatives like NATO DIANA or European Defence Fund calls focused on maritime autonomy.

Operational Implications & Market Outlook

If successful, this partnership could reshape allied MCM doctrine by enabling persistent presence without putting sailors at risk. Key operational advantages include:

Reduced risk exposure: Autonomous vehicles operate ahead of manned forces in contested areas.
Scalable deployments: Swarm-capable UUVs can cover larger areas faster than legacy assets like MH-53E helicopters or Avenger-class ships.
C4ISR synergy: Real-time integration into fleet-level decision networks enhances responsiveness during amphibious operations or port clearance missions.

The global market for unmanned MCM systems is projected to exceed $3 billion annually by the early 2030s according to Allied Market Research. With growing interest from Indo-Pacific navies facing asymmetric threats from sea mines—including Japan’s JMSDF and Australia’s RAN—the Thales-HII collaboration may find traction beyond Europe or North America as well.

Sourcing & Industrial Collaboration Opportunities

The transatlantic nature of this partnership also opens avenues for industrial offsets and co-production models involving local defense primes across NATO states. Potential partners include Saab Dynamics (Sweden), ECA Group/Naval Group JV ECA Robotics (France), or Atlas Elektronik UK—all active in modular unmanned MCM programs under PESCO or OCCAR frameworks.

This cooperation may also feed into future iterations of multinational exercises like Dynamic Move or REPMUS where interoperability between different national unmanned systems remains a key challenge area identified by NATO CMRE studies since 2019.

Conclusion

The Thales-HII alliance represents a significant step forward in realizing fully autonomous undersea mine warfare capabilities tailored for modern naval operations. By combining proven platforms like REMUS with advanced sonar payloads and AI-driven C4ISR tools, the two firms aim not just to replace legacy MCM assets—but redefine how navies think about underwater battlespace dominance in an era increasingly shaped by autonomy and data fusion.