The French Navy has taken delivery of the lead example of unmanned surface vehicle (USV) under the Future Mine Warfare System (Systeme de lutte anti-mines futur; SLAMF) program.
The USV is part of a complete system that also includes a towed sonar and an operation centre.
The SLAMF system was developed by a partnership of defence technology firm Thales and European intergovernmental organisation OCCAR. The partnership is also supplying similar unmanned mine countermeasures systems to the UK Royal Navy under a separate program.
The first SLAM-F USV will undergo further testing. The navy expects the system to achieve initial operational capability by 2024.
