ECA Group and TMT teams to provide mine-hunting autonomous systems for Australian Navy.

French company ECA Group announced on May 11, 2021, the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Australian company TMT (Total Marine Technology) to combine their expertise in the domain of unmanned technologies in order to partner for the SEA 1905 Phase 1 - Tranche 1 Program of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) for their future Maritime Mine Countermeasures and Military Survey Capability.
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Australian company Total Marine Technology has developed Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) and subsea intervention tooling. (Picture source )

Both companies are highly skilled in robotics equipment for harsh maritime environments and have been serving customers in the Defence and Security domain for many years. Today, ECA GROUP and TMT announce their partnership and a common commitment to supply the Commonwealth of Australia with the most competitive and technologically advanced solution for SEA 1905. TMT and ECA GROUP are already in discussions with other possible Australian partners to further enhance their offer.

The Australian company Total Marine Technology (TMT) has been in the marine industry since 1999, manufacturing robust and reliable Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) and subsea intervention tooling.

The Royal Australian Navy's SEA 1905 Maritime Mine Countermeasures (MCM) Program was announced in April 2019 to replace the RAN’s four remaining Huon-class Minehunter Coastal (MHC) ships. In January 2021, Australia’s Minister for Defence also stated that the new ships would be based on the Arafura-class offshore patrol vessel. The vessels will deploy modular unmanned autonomous systems that will provide them with mine-hunting and military survey capabilities.

The Huon-class minehunter coastal (MHC) ships are a group of six minehunters built for the Royal Australian Navy with the first commissioning in 1999. For minehunting operations, the ship uses three 120 horsepower (89 kW) Riva Calzoni azimuth thrusters. Mines are located with the minehunting sonar, and can be disposed of by the vessel's two Double Eagle mine disposal vehicles, the Oropesa mechanical sweep, the Mini-Dyad magnetic influence sweep, or the towed AMASS influence sweep (which is not always carried)

The request for tender SEA 1905 Phase 1 - Tranche 1 is expected for the fourth quarter of 2021. According to Admiral Michael Noonan for Australiandefence.com.au, the program schedule of SEA 1905 Phase 1 is well on the track: “first pass approval has occurred, second pass approval will be in the third or fourth quarter 2022 with the introduction of capability in 2023/2024 and IOC (initial operational capability) in the backend of 2024”. Admiral Noonan also shared a figure of A$3.3 –A$5 billion (€2.1 - €3.2 billion) for the future mine warfare and hydrographic vessels.