Naval Group Belgium Takes the Helm of the E=MCM Initiative in a European Commission Triumph
Within the scope of the European Defence FUND (EDF), Naval Group Belgium, a fully-owned subsidiary of Naval Group, will spearhead the E=MCM initiative for a duration of three years. This follows the successful completion of the MIRICLE project*, which concluded at the end of 2023, where 21 European collaborators will unite in the consortium to achieve a European sovereign capability in future mine warfare.
As the peril of maritime mines persists for both civil and military naval domains, European navies are enhancing their competencies to counter these threats effectively across extensive maritime areas. In this scenario, the E=MCM initiative has been proposed to the European Commission, as part of the 2023 call from the European Defense Fund. Now selected, E=MCM will kick off in the final quarter of 2024, continuing the endeavors initiated towards the next generation of “made in Europe” countermeasure solutions, while supporting the European naval community.
Building on the outcomes realized during the MIRICLE project, which aimed to develop next-generation MCM platforms and toolbox technologies for improved MCM operations, the European Extended Mine Countermeasures (E=MCM) project seeks to bridge development gaps for the capabilities of the new generation toolbox (toolbox 2.0). It aspires to design, prototype, and demonstrate a unified system-of-systems architecture with scalable unmanned autonomous toolboxes along with intelligent platforms and decision-support tools for mine-countermeasures (MCM), addressing the risks associated with drifting, tethered, and buried mines.
The goal of E=MCM is to produce new MCM capabilities prototypes poised for industrialization within the European Union.
The consortium of the E=MCM project comprises 21 beneficiaries from 11 European nations:
NAVAL GROUP BELGIUM
NAVAL GROUP SA (France)
EXAIL ROBOTICS SAS (France)
EXAIL ROBOTICS BELGIUM (Belgium)
THALES DMS (France)
NEDERLANDSE ORGANISATIE VOOR TOEGEPAST NATUURWETENSCHAPPELIJK ONDERZOEK (The Netherlands)
ELWAVE SAS (France)
OFFICE NATIONAL D’ETUDES ET DE RECHERCHES (France)
VLAAMS INSTITUUT VOOR DE ZEE (Belgium)
AGENŢIA DE CERCETARE PENTRU TEHNICĂ ŞI TEHNOLOGII MILITARE -MILITARY EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGIES RESEARCH AGENCY (MINISTERUL APARARII NATIONALE) (Romania)
DOTOCEAN N.V. (Belgium)
SISTRADE SOFTWARE CONSULTING SA (Portugal)
BELSS LTD (Latvia)
SPACE APPLICATIONS SERVICES NV (Belgium)
TERRA SPATIUM SA (Greece)
SOCIEDAD ANÓNIMA DE ELECTRÓNICA SUBMARINA S.M.E (Spain)
SAAB KOCKUMS AB (Sweden)
NAVANTIA (Spain)
Baltic Institute of Advanced Technology (Lithuania)
ATLAS (Germany)
ROYAL IHC (The Netherlands)
* Initiated in December 2021, the MIRICLE (MIne RIsk CLearance for Europe) project was a 24-month collaborative venture executed by a European consortium led by Naval Group Belgium and funded by both the European Commission and the Defence Ministries of the participating nations.
