Exail Robotics secures €60 million NATO contract for underwater mine disposal vehicles

Exail Robotics Belgium has won a €60 million (US$66.8 million) contract to supply underwater mine disposal vehicles and training vehicles and associated equipment to the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) for the primary use of both the Belgian Navy and Royal Netherlands Navy.

The company will supply its K-Ster C underwater mine disposal vehicles and K-Ster CT training vehicles, along with all the necessary operating equipment, from its Belgian facility in Oostende. That factory, inaugurated in 2022, already produces a range of drones for both navies as part of the modernisation programme being applied to their mine counter measure capabilities.

The K-Ster C is an expendable mine disposal vehicle. Developed for efficient mine neutralisation, it is fitted with a powerful shaped charge that lets it deal with all current types of underwater mines. Its guidance system allow for precise targeting and detonation, so mine counter measure operations can safely clear underwater minefields.

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The K-Ster CT is a dedicated training version of the same device, using a dummy warhead to avoid the risk of explosion during training with the tool. The contract will allow the Dutch and Belgium navies to both put the active mine clearance vehicles to work in the field and train new mine clearance operators on the technology to deliver a pipeline of people trained in the safe operation of the vehicles.

Procurement through the NSPA allows multiple national navies to jointly procure defence technology that will help all nations involved – in this case, to clear the seas where they operate of both legacy mines and any new munitions going forward.