The Ministry of Defence has confirmed a £100 million contract award to Thales UK Limited for the integration and supply of up to eight Remote Command Centres (RCCs) as part of its expanding Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) programme.
According to the published Voluntary Transparency Notice (VTN), the award is made under the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice, justified on the grounds that “there is a strict technical impracticality for a supplier other than Thales to achieve the Authority’s technical requirements as it is necessary to use specific knowledge, tools or means which only Thales currently has at its disposal.”
The new RCCs are designed to serve as integrated command hubs for Royal Navy mine countermeasure operations. The MoD states the contract covers “the requirement to integrate the currently disparate and separately controlled range of key MHC platforms and autonomous capabilities into the Thales MMCM RCC to deliver a single, unified RCC.” This will allow for “integrated command, control and operation of the full range of MHC platforms, systems and sub-systems.”
The contract also includes “the provision of associated software, training and SME technical advice in support of the integration activities and wider MHC capability delivery,” and has renewal options for three additional 12-month periods.
Crucially, the document outlines that Thales’ RCC forms the core of the existing Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) programme and is uniquely positioned to meet the MOD’s requirements. The notice notes:
“This is because the Thales RCC has been developed as part of the international collaborative MMCM programme and makes extensive use of Thales’ background technical information and know-how… This pre-existing RCC will form the basis for the new combined RCC, into which other hardware and software elements will be integrated.”
The MOD states that the complexity and safety-critical nature of the work means no other commercial entity could feasibly meet the demand, concluding that “Thales are the only commercial entity that possess both the relevant expertise and suitably qualified & experienced personnel to effectively deliver the totality of this requirement.”
Could someone more knowledgeable than myself please explain a bit what these Remote Command Centres are. Are they software that runs on a ship such as T31 for example?
They’re containerised Operations Rooms which can either be embarked into a suitable host platform or operated from shore to control uncrewed MCM systems.
are these systems able to be carried in a mission bay of say, ,T26
My understanding is that the mission bays of both T26 and T31 are able to store several 20ft containers. The mission bay of the T31 looks to be below the flight deck rather than part of the hangar and looks to be inaccessible without a dockside crane. Maybe there’s a lift. Also I guess the boat bays of both frigates are able to launch unmanned MCM USV drones. Maybe even a River 2 with its crane could qualify as a mothership? Could you fit a couple of USVs or UUVs on the flight deck? Looks like the navy have designed a MCM system which can travel with a task force. No need for Hunts and Sandowns to be forward based in anticipation or delayed by slow transit time.
My exact same thoughts what Motherships be them RN or RFA with an allotted RN MW team for the RFA ships