The Republic of Singapore Navy becomes the first export customer of Thales’ Pathmaster mine warfare system, which is already in service with the British Royal Navy and the French Marine Nationale as part of the MMCM / SLAMF program.
On 28 March 2025, Thales was awarded a contract through ST Engineering to provide the Republic of Singapore Navy with its Pathmaster mine counter measure system. As part of the Pathmaster system, Thales will deliver:
- The M-Cube mission management system,
- An undisclosed number of T-SAS towed sonars (featuring Thales’s new compact SAMDIS NG synthetic aperture sonar),
- The MiMap sonar data analysis tool.
These systems are meant to be fitted on and integrated with future unmanned surface vehicles (USV) which will be designed by ST Engineering. The Singaporean defense company announced during IMDEX Asia 2025 a contract award to deliver a suite of Mine Countermeasure (MCM) Unmanned Systems for the Republic of Singapore Navy.
Naval News understands that the M-Cube mission management system will be customized by Singapore’s DSTA in order to accommodate country-specific equipment. One example is likely the K-STER expendable mine disposal systems by Exail. The Republic of Singapore Navy has been using USVs and UUVs for mine warfare for nearly 5 years now. It is an existing user of both the T-SAS by Thales (in an earlier variant) and the K-STER system by Exail. These systems are deployed from both the Venus 19 USVs and the Bedok-class mine counter measure vessels. The future USVs by ST Engineering are meant to replace the ageing Bedok-class and will likely be deployed from the Multi Role Combat Vessels (MRCV), Singapore’s future “unmanned systems motherships”. The Republic of Singapore Navy are true pioneers in the implementation of autonomous systems and lean manning solution in the naval domain.
Thales will also provide tools to manage mine databases and library. These will be reinforced with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to facilitate target detection and identification, easing the workload of operators. The system will be supported by the Thales Singapore Defence Hub for maintenance and service and to develop compatible applications that can seamlessly interface with the RSN’s systems.
“We are thankful for the trust that the Republic of Singapore Navy has placed in Thales’ naval technologies. The Pathmaster system contributes towards the RSN’s vision for an autonomous suite of unmanned mine countermeasure capabilities, offering enhanced operational awareness, while reinforcing the safety of their personnel. With the support of the Thales Singapore Defence Hub, Thales strengthens its position as a key supplier to the Navy, having successfully delivered multiple radars in the past for major vessel programmes. Today, we are excited to take it a step further by providing the forefront of mine countermeasures solutions to support Singapore as it safeguards the nation’s maritime routes.”
Emily TAN, CEO & Country Director of Thales in Singapore
MiMap and M-Cube
MiMap is a mission analysis tool, which allows operators to analyze sonar data either in real-time or recorded during a mission. MiMap makes it possible to efficiently investigate the seabed, classify and localize contacts and report changes from the last known state of an area.
M-Cube, the Mine Counter Measure mission management system is deployable on Conventional MCM Vessels as well as Autonomous MCM Systems. Combined with MiMap, it reduces the cognitive load of commanders and operators, enabling them to make effective and efficient decisions in a threat environment. It is the world’s most capable and agile mine countermeasures C2 (command and control) system, with the potential to provide a significant technological advantage to the user.
The Thales Pathmaster system, including the MiMap and M-Cube solutions are currently already in service with the Royal Navy and the French Navy, under the Maritime Mine Countermeasure (MMCM) / SLAMF programme.
This contract with Singapore marks the first export contract of Pathmaster for Thales.
