Thales Delivers Unmanned Mine-Clearing Ops Center to French Navy

Defense News ,France :- Thales, a company, made a special computer program for the French Navy to help them get rid of underwater mines. This program is called the Expeditionary Portable Operations Centre (e-POC). With this tool, Navy people can control up to three drones that find and destroy mines underwater. They can use it on ships or on land, and they only need one computer to set it up.

It took Thales less than six months to make this program. They tested it in the sea to make sure it works well with the Navy's missions.

The e-POC uses software called the Mine Counter-measure Mission Management system. It also uses a tool called MiMap to analyze data in real-time. These are already used by the Navy.

The Vice President of Thales Underwater Systems, Gwendoline Blandin-Roger, said that the e-POC is a result of their team's smart thinking and quick work. This tool will help France do defense missions without putting people in danger.

France has been working to get rid of land and naval mines for a long time. They started making rules against these mines in 1980. They also joined the Ottawa Treaty to stop using and promoting anti-personnel mines. They work with organizations like the Crisis and Support Centre to clean up and destroy mines.

France also practices how to deal with mines with other countries. In 2023, French sailors joined American and British sailors in a practice called Exercise Artemis Trident. They learned from each other how to find and get rid of naval mines better.