Two teams, down from three, are now in the running to deliver a deployable Mine Counter Measures (MCM) and military survey capability to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The requirement makes up the first tranche of the larger SEA 1905 project, which will eventually replace all of the Navy’s existing MCM and survey capabilities.
While later tranches of SEA 1905 will completely overhaul the Navy’s capabilities, the goals of Tranche 1 are more modest. According to the Australian Department of Defence, the goal of Tranche 1 is to rapidly acquire a proven solution which can be containerised for deployment from shore or from aboard vessels of opportunity.
The SEA 1905 Project
The initial system has minimal Australian Industry Content (AIC) requirements due to its focus on rapid acquisition and speed-to-capability. However, as part of an “evergreening” program to keep the capability relevant, the winning bidder will be required to progressively “Australianise” the system as they work towards the requirements of SEA 1905 Tranche 2.
Whereas Tranche 1 is taking a rapid, platform-agnostic approach, the goal of Tranche 2 is to replace Australia’s dedicated MCM and hydrographic ships with new platforms. The current fleet, composed of four Huon class coastal minehunters (MHC) and two Leeuwin class survey ships (AGS), is ageing with the newest vessel commissioned back in 2003.
Publicly the Australian Government has committed to replacing both classes with a new, common design, derived from the Arafura Class Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV). However, with ongoing doubt over the future of the Arafura program, and its recent listing as a project of concern, the exact path forwards remains unclear.
Regardless of the decision, however, it’s likely that the actual MCM systems selected for Tranche 2 will be an evolution of the solution selected as part of Tranche 1 which means that either Saab Australia or Exail will likely secure the contract.
Exail
Exails offering for Tranche 1 is based on its Unmanned MCM Information System (UMIS), which will equip the future MCM vessels of the Dutch and Belgian navies as part of the rMCM program. To meet unique Australian requirements, Exail has signed agreements with a number of Australian and international companies.
These include Australian firm Total Marine Technologies (TMT) who are lined up to deliver deep-diving remotely operated vehicles, French firm ALSEAMAR who will provide underwater gliders, and Mission Systems who are providing software and integration support. The company has also committed to building the required Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USV) in Australia.
During Indo Pacific 2022, ECA Group (which became Exail when it merged with iXblue in 2022), told Naval News that an advantage of their offer was their systems “open architecture” which would allow it ‘easily” integrate a range of other systems. At the time, an ECA Group representative gave the example of how easily the company could integrate the Navy’s then-choice for its future Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS), the Schiebel S-100 Camcopter into UMIS.
Saab Australia
Saab Australia, meanwhile, is leading a team made up of Leidos, Sonartech Atlas and SeaBytes in pursuit of the requirement. Within the team, Saab is acting as the overall systems integrator, bringing together software from Leidos, and an advanced mission management system from Seabytes, with uncrewed surface and subsurface vessels from Atlas Sonartech.
Last year Saab Australia told Naval News that their experience developing combat management systems (CMS) for the RAN had them “well positioned” for the requirement. Saab Australia is currently contracted to provide the CMS for all RAN warships including the Arafura class OPV and future Hunter class frigates. This, the company argues, is a particular advantage because Tranche 2 will require the full integration of the selected system into into a ships CMS.
Kraken Robotics has a role to play
Naval News also understands that Canada’s Kraken Robotics, who build a variety of sensors, batteries and recovery systems for UUVs, is involved in at least two of the original three bids. However, it is not clear which teams it is apart of. Nevertheless, with two bids now in the running, it’s all but certain that Kraken Robotics is involved in one of them. Kraken Robotics’ solution is likely the KATFISH High-Speed Towed Synthetic Aperture Sonar.
