Thales and Al Fattan Join Forces to Revolutionize UAE Naval Mine Defense Systems

Al Fattan and Thales, two prominent firms in the maritime sector, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during IDEX/NAVDEX 2023 with the goal of delivering an advanced mine countermeasures system to the Naval Forces of the United Arab Emirates. This collaboration seeks to introduce a distinctive “system of systems” that utilizes unmanned assets, catering to a comprehensive array of configurations and necessities of Navies, while fulfilling criteria for safety, adaptability, speed, interoperability, and advancement.

Al Fattan Ship Industry was founded in 1987, under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates, who is the staunch advocate for this industry. The company has evolved into a top-tier shipyard since 2009, expanding its influence in the modern shipbuilding sector with a cutting-edge facility located in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Al Fattan has executed significant retrofit and enhancement initiatives, integrating systems across diverse types of vessels, including military & training ships, and commercial & oilfield support vessels.

Thales, a worldwide frontrunner in advanced technology systems, including mine countermeasures, has engineered a distinctive and reliable technology aimed at bolstering the security of maritime environments, ensuring the freedom of commercial navigation while minimizing human exposure to hazards.

Mine warfare tactics are advancing towards unmanned, remote, or autonomous operations. The forthcoming generation of drones, systems, and collaborative intelligence software is anticipated to markedly reduce the operators’ workload, enhancing mission delivery with improved performance and confidence. Consequently, navies are required to fortify their mine warfare and countermeasure expertise by upgrading their existing platforms with modern, resilient, mature, and unmanned solutions.

The revolutionary unmanned mine countermeasure systems crafted by Thales incorporate various subsystems, including a state-of-the-art sonar (SAMDIS) that provides unparalleled Single Path Multi View capability for identifying and classifying threats. The SAMDIS sonar is integrated within the Towed Synthetic Aperture Multiviews (TSAM) vehicle, which can be operated from the USV or deployed by AUV. The USV also has the capacity to carry a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) for neutralizing threats that have been previously detected and classified. The complete system is overseen remotely by operators situated at a Portable Operational Centre (POC). This POC can manage up to three systems at sea concurrently, thanks to the mine countermeasure M-Cube mission management system, along with MiMap, a mission analysis utility. This setup allows operators to analyze sonar data in real-time or record it for subsequent mission analysis. MiMap facilitates efficient seabed exploration, classification, and localization of contacts, as well as reporting changes from the last recognized status of an area. Combined with MiMap, M-Cube alleviates the cognitive burden on commanders and operators, assisting them in making timely and effective decisions in a challenging threat environment.

Al Fattan will collaborate with Thales’s local branch, Thales Emarat Technologies, which already develops key technologies within the UAE, contributing to enhancing local expertise and capabilities within the defense sector.

Al Fattan stands as one of the most rapidly growing partners in integrated offshore support, vessels, logistics, and marine services in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, making it the ideal collaborator to deploy the Thales Mine Counter Measures solutions from a dedicated mother vessel.

“This collaboration between Thales and Al Fattan will merge our knowledge and technologies in the naval defense arena to better support Naval Forces in the UAE. Via our local branch Thales Emarat Technologies, we are dedicated to partnering with our allies in the region to empower our clients and enable them to develop sovereign high-tech solutions.” Emmanuel de Roquefeuil, Vice President of Thales Middle East.

“This successful strategic partnership between Al Fattan and Thales is a significant milestone. We take great pride in collaborating with Thales to deliver the most sophisticated technology for Mine Counter Measure systems with unique and sovereign technological capabilities, aligning with the vision of His Highness.” Khaled Mohamed Rashed Al Rumaithi, CEO and Owner of Al Fattan.