Role & capabilities
- Mine-countermeasure payload carriage
- Hydrographic survey support
- Remote deployment of offboard sensors
- Primary domain
- Sea surface
- System type
- Uncrewed surface vessel
- Developer / manufacturer
- TKMS ATLAS UK / Atlas Elektronik UK
- Origin / production countries
- United Kingdom
- Other names
- Atlas Remote Combined Influence Minesweeping System; ARCIMS USV
- Variants / configurations
- 11.2 m modular baseline; Customer-specific mine-countermeasure and survey configurations
- Operators / programme customers
- Royal Navy; Other navies — not all named in current product source
Evidence & current status
A live HamiltonJet project brief supports the 11.2 m dimensions, twin-waterjet propulsion and 40-knot installation baseline. Current TKMS pages support modular sensor options, transportability and service context, supplemented by Royal Navy reporting. Lightship mass and numerical payload capacity are not established from the accessible primary sources; figures from an unavailable legacy brochure have been omitted. Performance and installed equipment remain configuration-dependent.
ARCIMS is a reusable surface platform developed in the United Kingdom to carry different naval mission modules. The same vessel architecture can support survey equipment, towed sensors and other mine-countermeasure tools. Its role is best understood as a host platform within a wider system that also includes control stations, payloads and support equipment.
The manufacturer confirms genuine uncrewed operation as well as the possibility of onboard control. An onboard steering mode does not disqualify it as a drone, but it means descriptions should identify the mode used in a particular trial or deployment. The current supplier page states service with several navies, including the Royal Navy.
British naval reporting in October 2025 described continued conversion training and further ARCIMS training planned for 2026. That shows a programme still developing its workforce and procedures alongside existing use. The technical figures here belong to the supplier's 11.2-metre modular baseline. Named naval craft and larger derivatives may have different hulls, masses, payloads or support arrangements.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Configuration | Modular USV with autonomous, remote and onboard modes | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Hull / propulsion | Twin engines with waterjets | Equipment supplier's Royal Navy ARCIMS installation baseline; customer configurations may differ. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | 11.2 m length; 3.4 m beam; 0.6 m draft | Equipment supplier's Royal Navy ARCIMS installation baseline; customer configurations may differ. Source ↗ |
| Displacement / mass | Not established from currently accessible primary sources | The current manufacturer page gives no mass figure; the legacy brochure could not be verified through a working primary-source copy. Source ↗ |
| Payload | Modular mission payloads; numerical capacity not established from currently accessible primary sources | The current manufacturer page describes payload modularity without a mass limit; no capacity figure is inferred. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Range | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Speed | 40 knots maximum in the HamiltonJet installation brief | Equipment supplier's Royal Navy ARCIMS installation baseline; customer configurations may differ. Source ↗ |
| Sea state / environment | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Mission-dependent towed sonar and synthetic-aperture sonar survey modules | Available mission-module categories; the installed sensor fit varies by vessel and customer. Source ↗ |
| Communications / control | Remote or autonomous control with collision-avoidance functionality | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Launch / deployment | Road, sea and air transportable | Transportability claim; specific carrier compatibility requires separate confirmation. Source ↗ |
Publication history
- — Added sourced land and maritime coverage with domain-specific evidence and limitations.
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Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- Current ARCIMS product and service statement (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme
- Current TKMS MCM Toolbox: ARCIMS sensor modules and transportability (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme
- Royal Navy conversion-training update, 22 October 2025 (opens in a new tab)Government / operator
- HamiltonJet ARCIMS installation brief no.491 (opens in a new tab)Equipment supplier / project participant