Defence Online

The drone photographs are pretty good. Give Dave a follow by clicking here. You will not be disappointed.The Ministry of Defence say that RFA Stirling Castle is the new ‘mothership’ for leading-edge mine warfare technology – technology which will both keep the UK’s waters safe and reduce the risk to sailors.She arrived on the Clyde in late January to take her place at the forefront of supporting the next generation of the Royal Navy’s mine countermeasures capability. Her arrival coincided with the departure of HMS Penzance, the last traditional minehunter on the Clyde.The 6,000-tonne Stirling Castle began life as MV Island Crown, before undergoing conversion in Devonport which will allow her to operate as home to the Royal Navy’s new autonomous mine countermeasures systems.The vessel was recently working side-by-side with Zulu Squadron of the Mine and Threat Exploitation Group (MTXG), the Royal Navy’s mine countermeasures specialists based at Faslane. According to a release:“MTXG are trailblazing this advance in technology, employing a full suite of current and future systems: Autonomous Surface Vessels (ASVs), Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles (UUVs), the joint French-UK Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) system, the Combined Influence Sweep (SWEEP) system, and Medium Underwater Autonomous Vehicles (MAUVs).Those systems can be operated remotely by MTXG, using a portable command centre on land or from onboard RFA Stirling Castle, or they operate autonomously. Either way, they will be able to search a wider area more quickly than the Sandown-class ships they replace and without the need to expose RN personnel to the dangers of a minefield.”