Mine countermeasures: France orders twelve more drones under the Slam-F programme

The DGA, France's defence procurement agency, has ordered twelve more surface and underwater drones for mine countermeasures under the Slam-F programme. To enable the new systems to protect French coastal waters, the charter of mothership vessels is also planned.

The order is intended to strengthen French capabilities in mine countermeasures and underwater intervention. Naval mines remain a considerable threat to shipping, to the freedom of movement of naval forces and to the protection of strategic interests. Unmanned systems make it possible to search for, identify and neutralise mines without crews having to enter the danger area directly. The additional drones are to build a larger fleet without creating a capability gap.

Mine countermeasures in partnership: partners and new vessels

Slam-F rests on two key cooperations: France's partner for the drones is the United Kingdom, while the mothership vessels stem from cooperation with Belgium and the Netherlands.

Like France, only a few countries have comprehensive expertise in detecting and clearing naval mines. The cooperations are also intended to strengthen strategic autonomy and improve interoperability with European partners.

In addition to the extra drones, new support vessels for mine divers and carrier platforms for mine countermeasures systems are planned. This is intended to enable the French Navy to deploy its capabilities for longer and also far from mainland France in future.