Thales has developed a mission planning, management, and analysis demonstrator for the French Navy’s mine-clearing operations.
The Expeditionary Portable Operations Centre (e-POC) allows operators to simultaneously control up to three underwater minehunting drones and can be set up using only a single computer system on board a ship or on land.
Thales developed the demonstrator in less than six months, completing the necessary sea trials to assure its smooth integration with the navy’s minehunting missions.
It runs on software developed for the Mine Counter-measure Mission Management system, as well as the MiMap mission analysis tool, both used by the navy to track and analyze acquired data in real time.
Thales Underwater Systems Vice President Gwendoline Blandin-Roger said that the e-POC is the product of its development team’s innovation and agility, boosting France’s capabilities for unmanned defense missions.
“The e-POC solution is designed for rapid deployment into any theatre of operations, making a valuable contribution to future mine countermeasures missions and helping to guarantee the safety of naval personnel,” she added.
France’s Minesweeping Measures
France has developed multiple initiatives to counter both land and naval mines, regulating the use of such weapons as early as 1980.
It follows the Ottawa Treaty’s mandate of prohibiting the use and promotion of anti-personnel mines, aiding in its de-pollution and destruction through organizations such as the Crisis and Support Centre.
Paris also participates in various counter-mine exercises. In 2023, sailors joined their US and UK counterparts in Exercise Artemis Trident, which allowed the forces to share best practices for detecting, classifying, and clearing naval mines.