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Royal IHC has partnered with Elwave in the European Extended Mine Countermeasures (E=MCM) program to advance innovation and interoperability for European navies.
Royal IHC’s mission is to design, prototype, and demonstrate a unified system-of-systems architecture featuring scalable unmanned autonomous toolboxes, intelligent platforms, and advanced decision-support tools.
Central to Royal IHC’s approach is the development of an advanced seabed crawler equipped with Elwave’s Octopulse sensors, powered by the biomimicry technology CEDAR® (Controlled Electric Detection and Ranging), to enhance mine countermeasure (MCM) capabilities.
Royal IHC Contribution
Royal IHC’s contribution and innovation aim to achieve goals in several areas of mine detection and neutralisation. Bringing to the table its product innovation, design, and engineering capabilities to deliver dedicated solutions in the following areas:
- Unmanned autonomous toolboxes – Its toolboxes are designed to be scalable and can be deployed autonomously to detect, classify, localise, identify, and neutralise various types of mines, such as drifting, tethered, and buried mines.
- Intelligent platforms – Royal IHC platforms are equipped with advanced sensors and decision-support tools to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of MCM operations.
- System-of-systems architecture – The program aims to design, prototype, and demonstrate a single system-of-systems architecture that integrates the various technologies and platforms to deliver better, faster, safer, and more resilient MCM operations.
E=MCM Program
The threat of sea mines in Europe has persisted for decades, evolving in complexity and requiring increasingly sophisticated countermeasures. Two key goals drive the efforts in addressing this threat:
- To develop innovative, field-tested prototype solutions that effectively counter drifting, buried, and moored mines, while operating at greater stand-off ranges and in harsh conditions.
- To achieve measurable operational gains in mine countermeasure (MCM) operations by enhancing interoperability among EU navies.
Strengthening European Defense
Through its participation in the 36-month E=MCM project, Royal IHC strengthens European naval defense capabilities through continuous innovation
The project involves 11 EU nations and includes collaboration with 22 key industry and defense partners, such as Elwave. Together, they hope to advance the future of mine countermeasures and contribute to a safer and more secure maritime environment.
Dual Use Applications
The collaboration between Royal IHC and Elwave demonstrates the commitment of both companies to delivering high-performance solutions for deployment, operations, and collaboration in harsh conditions, from the surf zone to ultra-deep waters.
Royal IHC applies its maritime technology expertise, while Elwave’s CEDAR® sensing technology improves mine detection and classification in challenging environments, including high acoustic and electromagnetic noise and water turbidity.
The selection of Elwave’s technology for its commercial subsea crawlers aligns with Royal IHC’s commitment to providing clients with the latest sensing technologies.
A demonstration will be given at SeaSEC Challenge Weeks 2025. This event will take place from May 12 to 23, 2025, at SeaSEC’s maritime testing grounds off the coast of Scheveningen, Netherlands.
