The South African Navy showcased a renewed mine countermeasures capability at Exercise Phoenix 2025 in Saldanha Bay, held from 10 February 2025. The drill paired an unmanned system with diver-led clearance to rebuild previously dormant skills against underwater threats.
Centre stage was the operational debut of the REMUS A100 autonomous underwater vehicle, acquired via an Armscor tender. Over two weeks, crews trained under Project M/W SUPP 4, starting with mission planning and data analysis at the Institute for Maritime Technology before moving to open-water runs. AUV sonar plots fed dive teams for confirmation and disposal.
The A100 is a sub-40 kg, ~2 m system with around 10 hours’ endurance and up to 70 km range. Its high-frequency sonar produces fine-resolution mosaics for mine hunting, with laptop-based control and post-mission processing. The REMUS line, now produced by Huntington Ingalls Industries, fits the Navy’s layered defence approach alongside Valour-class surface assets.
Logistics were part of the test: road-portable kits, support and maintenance baselines, and a Mine Warfare Deployment Team model of 20–25 sailors. The Navy plans to embark modular mine-hunting packages on new inshore patrol vessels by 2027. Lessons learned shaped SOPs, and the concept offers a cost-efficient force multiplier for future joint exercises.
