Swedish Navy and Saab sign deal on autonomous mine countermeasures vessels
An early demonstrator version of the Saab MCM AUV. (Photo: Saab)
The AUV will use high-resolution sonar images to detect mines on the seabed without endangering personnel.
The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has signed an agreement with Saab to provide autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for mine countermeasures (MCM) missions.
Saab has agreed to supply its AUV62-MR AUV to the Swedish Navy to help with MCM missions in complex environments, especially in situations requiring long-endurance autonomous capabilities.
The AUV62-MR can works by mapping areas of seabed and producing high-resolution sonar images that allow various types of objects to be identified, said Saab.
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It is designed to give the navy a degree of certainty over whether what it has discovered is a mine or simply some harmless piece of flotsam on an increasingly overcrowded sea floor.
That certainty will allow for covert reconnaissance as deemed necessary by the AUV’s operators, but the autonomy of the platform also means MCM can be deployed as required with significantly less risk to the lives of navy personnel than would be the case with crewed countermeasure vessels.
Mats Wicksell, head of Saab’s business area Kockums, said: “We are very proud to have been entrusted by FMV to deliver AUV62-MR. In addition to strengthening existing MCM capabilities, these systems will be an important part of the navy’s work towards future capabilities.”
Autonomous MCM are increasingly being tested and deployed. Earlier in the month, the UK’s Royal Navy (RN) conducted tests of an autonomous MCM vessel in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. That vessel was built by L3 Harris under a contract with Thales (France).
In the UK’s case, however, the vessel is being additionally calibrated before being returned to the RN late in 2025.
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