On 20 October in Paris, the UK Minister for Defence Procurement Harriett Baldwin and her French counterpart, Laurent Collet-Billon, launched the next phase of a £117 million joint Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) programme.

Working with French allies, the MMCM programme will develop advanced maritime mine warfare capability: a capability which will keep the UK and France at the forefront of autonomous systems technology. This development and deployment of unmanned mine clearance vehicle will help keep personnel safe in challenging maritime environments.