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Western Europe pins hopes on technology to tackle next-gen MCM challenges

13th October 2020 - 14:15 GMT | by Richard Thomas in London

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With hundreds of thousands of legacy mines languishing in various states of wear in Europe’s seas and waterways, it is little wonder that the topic of mine countermeasure (MCM) operations remains at the forefront of naval considerations for the region’s navies.

It is thought that around 400,000 legacy mines currently litter the North Sea, Baltic Sea and English Channel, many if not most leftovers from the Second World War. For decades, European navies have ensured that they have capable MCM forces and have driven much of the technological and doctrinal development in the sector.

The UK maintains a two-type fleet of MCM vessels, with four permanently forward-based in the Middle East, while countries such as France, the Netherlands and Belgium, among others, maintain top-end MCM capabilities.

Over the past generation, unmanned technologies have gradually taken the place of what many consider

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