NATO taps Exail for mine-clearing underwater drones

MILAN — The NATO Support and Procurement Agency has placed a new order for underwater robots capable of finding and clearing naval mines to be used by two European alliance members.

The Belgium division of the underwater drone producer Exail Robotics announced this week that it was awarded a $67 million contract by NSPA for the procurement of an undisclosed number of its K-Ster C expendable mine disposal vehicles and K-Ster CT training vehicles.

The primary user countries of the systems will be the Netherlands and Belgium, where the K-Ster units will also be assembled, according to a company press release.

Exail established a production line in Oostende, Belgium, in 2022, where it has been manufacturing different drones for both navies already as part of a modernization program to upgrade their respective mine countermeasure capabilities.

The K-Ster C is a lightweight vehicle equipped with a guidance system that allows precise targeting and a potent shaped charge capable of effectively destroying all types of mines, per company information. The other variant acquired by NSPA is dedicated for training and is thus fitted with an inert warhead.

The drone can be operated from a command-and-control unit based outside of the minefield, either from land or on a ship, and can also be automatically deployed from an unmanned surface vessel.

In the last year, NATO has turned its attention to testing a variety of unmanned underwater technologies, including underwater drones outfitted with 5G communications capabilities, in different exercises to better connect surface and undersea assets.

As part of the Baltic exercise Baltops 2024, which took place in June, U.S. and NATO forces conducted joint mine hunting and mine detonation operations in the Baltic Sea, culminating in an mine countermeasures combat rehearsal drill at the end.

The exercise combined over 20 surface ships, 20 unmanned systems consisting of unmanned surface and underwater vessels, as well as two MH-60S Seahawk helicopters.