NAVDEX 2021: UK Navy displays Sandown-class minehunter HMS Penzance.

UK Navy displays Sandown-class minehunter HMS Penzance (M106) at the opportunity of Navdex 2021 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. HMS Penzance is a Sandown-class minehunter commissioned by the Royal Navy in 1998. She is named after the seaside town of Penzance in Cornwall, and is the fourth vessel to bear the name.

Sandown-class minehunter HMS Penzance M106 at NAVDEX 2021, Abu Dhabi

The Sandown Class is equipped with two underwater PAP 104 mk5 remote-controlled mine-disposal vehicles, supplied by Societe ECA. The vehicle is controlled via a 2,000 m fiber-optic cable. A lighting system, low light level black and white camera and a color camera are fitted. The vehicle is also fitted with high-resolution sonar. The sensor data is transmitted back to the operations control centre on the ship.

The main payload is a 100 kg mine disposal charge which can be replaced by a manipulator. Wire cutters are used to release moored mines from the column of water above the sea bed. The mine disposal vehicles can be deployed to a depth of 300 m.

The Sandown Class is also equipped with two Barricade lightweight decoy launchers supplied by ML Aviation of Andover. The launchers are capable of dispensing infrared decoys and chaff in confusion, distraction and centroid seduction modes of operation.