The Royal Australian Navy has added another five years to the QinetiQ Australia contract for mine warfare support at HMAS Waterhen.

A company release says the extension to the Mine Warfare Maintenance Facility (MWMF) Support Contract will further enable mine warfare training capabilities through the maintenance, sustainment, and engineering of complex mine warfare training aids on behalf of Maritime Explosive Ordnance System Program Office (MEOSPO).

QinetiQ has worked with the Navy and the mine warfare community since the contract was initially awarded in 2017, developing a robust, sovereign mine warfare training and threat representation capability.

QinetiQ Australia managing director Greg Barsby said as the capability has grown it has been great to see the user groups collaborating to challenge their crews against real world representative threats in challenging scenarios. “What has already been achieved is really just the ‘catalyst’ for future capability and solidifying the RAN as a world leader in Mine Warfare training and threat representation so they can train as they mean to fight.”

QinetiQ has collaborated with the RAN Mine Warfare and Clearance Diving (MCD) community and Mine Warfare and Clearance Diving System Program Office (MCDSPO) since 2018, expanding training capabilities in response to an increasing number of real-world incidents involving naval mines and emerging threats.

The enhanced training capabilities were enabled through the rapid design and local manufacture of a number of batches of specialist training mines to replicate the threats that were being encountered.

QinetiQ’s engineers and specialist technicians are currently working closely with Navy stakeholders to design and manufacture a number of more complex training product lines, including an innovative smart mine sensor package based on specific MCD community input and user needs to further bolster the robust capability.