As navies seek to increase operational flexibility and deploy capabilities across a wider mix of crewed and uncrewed platforms, the challenge extends beyond the payload itself. Success depends on the ability to safely plan, integrate, monitor and control missions through a common operational framework.
In August 2026, CUBEDIN partnered with J.A. Solutions to support a live demonstration of a modular naval mine laying capability for the Royal Danish Navy and Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation in Nyborg, Denmark.
The demonstration showcased how a common planning, command and monitoring layer can enable naval mine operations across both an unmanned surface vessel (USV) and a manned surface vessel while maintaining operational oversight, safety and mission awareness through a single interface.
The Challenge
Modern navies are increasingly adopting modular capabilities that can be deployed across multiple platforms, offering greater operational flexibility, increased fleet mass and persistence, faster capability deployment, and reduced reliance on dedicated platforms.
However, distributing capability across different vessels and autonomous systems introduces new challenges. Operators must be able to:
- Plan missions consistently
- Monitor deployment status in real time
- Maintain safety oversight
- Track mission execution
- Integrate crewed and uncrewed assets into a common operational picture
Without a common integration and control framework, introducing new modular capabilities can create operational complexity and additional training burdens.
The Demonstration
The demonstration centred around J.A. Solutions’ modular sea mine deployment system and was conducted from two different host platforms.
Manned Surface Vessel
A 20-foot containerised rack carrying four mine-laying frame sets was installed aboard the multi-purpose salvage vessel Susanne A.
The system successfully deployed:
- Four sea mines
- Each weighing approximately 850 kg
This demonstrated how a modular payload can be integrated onto an existing vessel without requiring a dedicated mine warfare platform.
Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV)
A second demonstration was conducted using a USV.
The system deployed:
- Two sea mines
- Each weighing approximately 250 kg
In addition, the frame set demonstrated the ability to deploy alternative payloads, including a life raft for personnel recovery operations. This highlighted the flexibility of the modular deployment system and its potential to support multiple mission types from a common architecture.
CUBEDIN's Role
For the demonstration, CUBEDIN provided the mission planning, command, control and monitoring layer through software integrated within SitaWare. The objective was to demonstrate how operators could safely manage mine laying missions across different platforms through a common interface. CUBEDIN enabled:
Mission Planning: Operators could plan mine laying operations before deployment, defining deployment locations and mission parameters through a digital planning environment.
Automated and Human-in-the-Loop Deployment: The system supported both automated deployment and operator-controlled deployment modes, allowing the appropriate level of human oversight based on mission requirements.
Real-Time Mission Monitoring: Throughout the operation, operators maintained visibility of mission execution through a live operational picture.
Alerts and Safety Management: Immediate alerts and alarms were generated in the event of technical issues or abnormal system behaviour, supporting safe mission execution.
Mine Tracking and Status Monitoring: Operators could track mine locations, deployment status, and mission progress throughout the operation.
Unified Operational Picture: All mission information was presented through a single interface, providing operators with a common view regardless of whether the mission was being executed from a crewed vessel or an autonomous platform.
Summary
As navies continue to explore modular capabilities and autonomous systems, the challenge is no longer simply deploying new technology – it’s ensuring those capabilities can be safely integrated, monitored and operated across a growing mix of platforms.
This demonstration showed how a common planning, control and monitoring framework can help bridge that gap, enabling modular capabilities to be deployed from both crewed and uncrewed vessels while maintaining a single operational picture.
By combining J.A. Solutions’ modular deployment system with CUBEDIN’s integration and mission management software, the demonstration provided a practical example of how future naval capabilities can be introduced more rapidly, operated more effectively and scaled across multiple platforms.
