Overview

• The Royal Navy has acquired multiple unmanned Sweep mine countermeasure vessels to detect and neutralize sea mines without risking crews.
• Each Sweep system can be remotely operated from land or sea and mimics ship signatures to safely trigger modern digital mines.
• Built by TKMS Atlas in Dorset, the domestic development revives a capability decommissioned in 2005 and supports skilled jobs in the UK.
• The purchase aims to shield critical undersea cables and pipelines after a surge of sabotage incidents in the Baltic and North Seas linked to Russian operations.
• Regular Russian naval transits, including sightings of the submarine Novorossiysk in the English Channel, are prompting NATO to strengthen undersea security measures.