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• The Research and Development project ‘Mine Counter Measures in a Day’ was jointly funded through Trusted Autonomous Systems, established as a Defence Cooperative Research Centre, who also provided technical oversight. The project, commencing in 2020, recently concluded with a capability demonstration in Sydney.
• The three-year project, the first of its kind in Australia, was led by Thales with close collaboration, inputs, and investments totaling over $14m, from Defence Science Technology group (DSTG), Academia and Australian Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), ineni Realtime and Mission Systems.
• The project delivered a prototype team of sovereign autonomous vehicles, including the advancement of sensor development and analysis tools for mine countermeasures in the Very Shallow Water (VSW) zone; enhancing operator safety, while significantly accelerating mission efficacy.
• The capabilities, research and outcome of this project align with Defence’s Sovereign Defence Industrial Priorities (SDIPs), associated with the “development and integration of autonomous systems” as well as the “integration and enhancement of battlespace awareness and management systems.”
Deployable from sea or land, and operational in the most challenging coastal conditions, the autonomous system of systems maps the minefield and identifies Mine Like Objects (MLO) before deploying a neutralisation (simulated) package to counter the identified targets.
“The Mine Countermeasures (MCM) in a day Project was a unique, multi-partner activity with the objective of developing a solution which puts the safety of Defence personnel at its core. Thales Australia’s 40+ year pedigree in sonar technologies, coupled with the innovative thinking of Academia, SMEs and DSTG, has delivered the building blocks of an Australian first Robotic and Autonomous System littoral mine clearance solution to the Royal Australian Navy.
The MCM in a day project has been an exciting project for our engineers and has enabled us to establish a pipeline for autonomous systems talent; building the workforce of the future.” Troy Stephen, Vice President Underwater Systems, Thales Australia.
“At Trusted Autonomous Systems, we are incredibly proud of the hard work, dedication, and collaboration between our partners that has resulted in the successful delivery of the Thales-led MCM in a Day project. It has been our privilege to oversee this journey, which was made possible by the close collaboration between partners across Defence, Industry and Academia. The potential improvements to our war fighters’ safety, as well as the significant technical advances created by this project, will continue to see benefits for Australia well into the future”. Glen Schafer, CEO, Trusted Autonomous Systems.
“The project was an excellent capability demonstrator of the team partners successfully collaborating to develop MCM solutions for very real and very harsh operating environments.” Professor Karl Sammut, Flinders University.
"At the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), our Robotics Institute excels in developing advanced solutions that address critical challenges in the Defence industry. We specialise in robotics for complex environments, leveraging cutting-edge technologies in sensing, perception, planning, and control. This project, in collaboration with Thales Australia and other partners, exemplifies our commitment to advancing autonomous systems technology and showcases our capability to contribute to groundbreaking Defence initiatives.” Professor Robert Fitch, Director Tech Lab, University of Technology Sydney.
“The partnership with Thales and other key collaborators has been instrumental in advancing our HMI technology for AUV operations. Our innovative interface addresses key challenges in the Very Shallow Water (VSW) zone by delivering predictive visualisations and live updates presented in a continuously updating visual digital twin. This project exemplifies the strength of collaboration between industry and academia, and we are proud to contribute to the advancement of Australian sovereign capabilities in autonomous underwater systems.” Stafford van Putten, Director, ineni Realtime.
About Thales in Australia
Thales in Australia and New Zealand (thalesgroup.com) is a trusted partner of the Australian Defence Force across the Land, Sea and Air environment. Thales employs over 4,300 people in Australia, across 35 sites and supports over 2,000 jobs along its Australian supply chain. As a sovereign industry capability, for over 40 years, we have been designing, manufacturing and exporting world-leading sonar technology for the Royal Australian Navy and Allied Navies and for use on all major platforms including the Huon-class Mine Hunter, the Adelaide-class Frigate, the ANZAC-class Frigate and Collins Class Submarines.
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