BRUSSELS, March 16 (UPI) -- A project to develop a system to detect drifting mines from various platforms is being undertaken by Thales Air Systems of France.
The Drifting Mines Detection project is being performed as an initiative of the European Defense Agency, part of the European Union. It is for 30 months and is worth about $6.2 million.
The EDA said the project's purpose is to assess the possibility of detecting drifting mines from different sensors and different platforms using existing radars and electro-optic sensors.
"At a first stage the project will develop and test an experimental demonstrator for mine detection at sea on a naval ship," EDA said in a news release. "An initial investigation of constraints for the application of the demonstrator on an unmanned surface vehicle will also be performed.
"Depending on the results, such integration on a USV will take place at a second stage."
Thales Air Systems has teamed with Belgium's Royal Military Academy for the project, which was contracted by the EDA on behalf of member states France and Belgium.
