The Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) Programme, which aims to transition from traditional mine countermeasures vessels to Maritime Autonomous Systems, remains at Amber in the latest Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) Annual Report 2023-24.
The transition is expected to enhance the UK’s ability to secure maritime operations by addressing static underwater threats.
The programme will replace aging Mine Counter Measure Vessels (MCMVs) with state-of-the-art autonomous systems. This transition represents a significant shift in the UK’s approach to mine warfare, aligning with global trends in unmanned technology adoption.
Key Progress and Challenges
Despite its importance, the programme faces several challenges:
- Historical Supplier Performance: The report attributes the continued Amber Delivery Confidence Assessment to poor supplier performance on Block 1, highlighting the need for sustained management attention to meet the programme’s goals.
- Schedule and Budget Variance: The end-date for the programme remains set at 31 March 2034, but the project has undergone budgetary re-profiling due to issues with contractor performance and the prioritisation of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle re-role activity. These changes have resulted in a budget variance exceeding 5%, as noted in the report.
- Operational Progress: Positive strides have been made with the Operational Evaluation Unit deployed to the Gulf and the delivery of an Offshore Support Vessel to Devonport, which align with the programme’s scheduled milestones.
The Whole Life Cost (WLC) of the programme remains exempt under Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act due to commercial sensitivities. However, the IPA notes that adjustments to costs and schedules have been made as part of a Programme Cost Review, reflecting the challenges of operating in a complex environment.
Outlook
While the Amber rating signals significant risks and ongoing challenges, the MHC Programme continues to demonstrate progress. The MOD’s focus on addressing supplier performance issues and re-profiling budgets indicates a commitment to ensuring the programme’s success.
The Mine Hunting Capability Programme is a cornerstone of the UK’s efforts to modernise its military capabilities. Its successful delivery will reinforce the Royal Navy’s position as a leader in maritime security and autonomous warfare technology.
The issue with this is that they have never ever answered what the actual replacement for the hulls are..there were two parts to the mine warfare fleet the capability and this autonomous capability replaces the mine countermeasure/warfare capability the hulls carried not the hulls and the hulls themselves did a job..
1) transported and protected the capability
2) provided a secondary patrol and presence
So what is replace the actual hulls, 20 something 600- 800 ton hulls that had a medium and light guns…
An 11 meter SEA class boat ( what the autonomous capacity is based around ) needs transporting to the zone it’s going to work in and it needs protection in that zone as well as presence..you also cannot use it as a secondary patrol and presence capability..and does not replace a 60 meter mine warfare vessel.
Personally I think the RN should look at expanding and repurposing the rivers 2 fleet, 10 2000 ton vessels, with an autonomous capability that can be dropped off and picked up or port based is not a bad swap….
Have to agree with your R2 idea. In fact, given how different the design of R2 is from most other navies OPVs its almost as if the RN went most of the way towards a MCMV mothership- heavy duty crane, container storage and large working deck preferred to helo hangar. How does the ARCIMS compare with the Pac24? In the role of MCMV modest uparming with a 40mm or 57mm makes sense whereas trying to convert it into a corvette doesn’t. At 90m perhaps you could a few more in Appledore?
echo and enterprise would have been ideal for this kind of work they can and should be brought back into service to supplement the ever busy rivers.
They’re not ideal for this? They don’t have the deck space or cranes to host mine hunters
They cannot self deploy but that’s ok we’ll send a Herc.
Oops.
A question I’ve asked before. What asset checks for mines for the mother that deploys the autonomous boats?
At least a MCMV could go ahead to clear a stretch of water and deploy UUV itself.
To me, just another rush to cut and save money as much of the MCMV force has already gone.
Some of the Hunts are stated to remain to the 2030s I understand.
Hi Daniele,
I would also had the threat of off-shore mines placed in the Western Approaches for example e.g. like the one that sank HMS Audacious in 1914. Small boats are going to struggle in that kind of environment given that waves of 2m height are not uncommon…
Cheers CR
Checking for mines for the mother ship…good question. Catch 22. I wonder if the answer lies in splitting the MCMV problem into 3 . For home ports you have a Sterling Castle anchored at each port; for choke points/ passages you have MCMV motherships at the entrance and exit; for amphibious / littoral intervention the frigate which is part of the task force launches drones from its mission bay. In each case you have the mothership in a safe position and the autonomous drones within reach of the area they need to work. Just a thought.
My biggest concern with the pushing to a mass of drones, is the introduction of a single point of failure. Take out the mothership or hub and all you have is a bunch of very expensive debris flying or floating around.