Australia Government invests in revolutionary new mine countermeasure R&D project.

According to the Australian Ministry of Defence, new autonomous technologies will revolutionise mine clearance capability in operations close to shore through a new five-year, $15 million research and development project.
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Halcyon Autonomous Surface Vessel manufactured by Thales. (Picture source: Thales)

The project is part of a new partnership between Defence, Australia’s Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence Cooperative Research Centre (TAS DCRC) and Thales Australia.

Researchers will design, develop, test and evaluate various teams of micro Autonomous Underwater Vehicle swarms and Autonomous Surface Vessels, to develop new systems for underwater mine detection and clearance.

Minister for Defence Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC said the project will harness Australian research and innovation capabilities in autonomous systems technologies. She added that Australian businesses will play a vital role in the TAS DCRC project.

Research partners include Flinders University, the University of Sydney, the University of Technology Sydney and Western Sydney University who will design, develop, test and evaluate various platforms.