MOD looking to spend £2m on limpet mine clearance tech

The Ministry of Defence has announced its intention to award a five-year contract, valued at £2 million, to ABP Technologies Ltd for the procurement of Cartridge Limpet Mine Disposal Equipment.

This procurement is part of the Defence General Munitions (DGM) Delivery Team’s efforts to enhance the MoD’s Limpet Mine Disposal Equipment capability, with the contract including an initial three-year core term and the option to extend for two additional one-year periods.

A limpet mine is a type of naval mine attached to a target by magnets. It is so named because of its superficial similarity to the shape of the limpet. A swimmer or diver may attach the mine, which is usually designed with hollow compartments to give the mine just slight negative buoyancy, making it easier to handle underwater.

According to the notice:

“The Defence General Munitions (DGM) Delivery Team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), intends to award a five-year contract (three-year core term and two 1-year options to extend) to ABP Technologies Ltd for the purchase of Cartridges for the MoD’s Limpet Mine Disposal Equipment capability (LMDE).”

The firm describe the product on their website:

“The Limpet Mine Disposal Equipment (LMDE) has been developed to disrupt thin cased seamines that have been attached to the hull of a ship or an underwater installation. The LMDE comprises of a disruptor system mounted in a stand that is attached to the hull or structure using magnets.

The LMDE is diver deployable and has buoyancy blocks fitted to the stand to assist carrying and placement. The system would normally be prepared on deck or land then positioned adjacent to the target. Once in position the stand has features to allow the barrel to be accurately adjusted and positioned against the target. In operation, the LMDE projects a slug of water at high velocity into the target. This water penetrates the skin of the target and disrupts the explosive filling and detonation mechanism providing a high degree of confidence that detonation will be avoided.

The energy required to project the water is derived from an electrically initiated cartridge. The LMDE is manufactured from corrosion resistant materials throughout, the stand being of hard anodised aluminium and stainless-steel construction. The disruptor is of stainless-steel construction which is pressure tested and flaw detected before supply.”