Specialists from the UK Royal Navy's Diving Threat and Exploitation Group have undergone training over the past few weeks with a portable submersible capable of finding, identifying, and safely destroying underwater devices.
The remote-controlled submersible, developed by unmanned systems manufacturer VideoRay, is part of a range of minehunting and disposal systems, plus other autonomous equipment, loaded aboard the dock landing ship (LSD) RFA Lyme Bay so she can serve as a mine warfare mothership.
The LSD sailed earlier this week for a potential multi-national mission to the Strait of Hormuz.
The Royal Navy said the VideoRay system was tested extensively in European waters and is already used by Ukrainian forces. It is particularly suited to dealing with buoyant mines that "sit" just below the surface of the ocean, detonating when they are struck by passing shipping.
On front-line operations, the divers will work in tandem with the Royal Navy’s Mine Threat Exploitation Group, which will use advanced sonar systems to pinpoint the location of a suspected device, leaving the divers to handle neutralising it.
The system consists of: a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that will attach a demolition charge to an identified mine; and a firing system that will ensure the detonation will take place at a safe distance.
Controlled from a heavy-duty laptop either in a small Royal Navy boat, or from a small command centre set up in a shipping container or compartment on a ship, the system can be steered manually or make its own way to its target following pre-set coordinates.
The system will provide a constant video and sonar feed back to the operator, while software on board the ROV will help maintain its position in the water. The ROV will then be carefully manoeuvred into position and the firing system is nailed with tremendous force into the mine, attaching the weapon to it while the ROV retreats back leaving the firing system behind.
Unravelling the firing cable as it goes, the submersible withdraws to a safe distance until the operator fires the weapon, causing the charge to detonate. It will deliver a shaped charge that directs the blast/energy in a specific direction, in this instance into the mine, with enough force to slice through steel more than one metre thick.
The ROV will then be hauled back to the mothership, lifted out of the water, and prepared for its next mission.
