Belgian Ministry of Defence
Belgium's defence ministry, procuring underwater vehicles for divers and EOD units.
Belgium's Ministry of Defence published a tender for twelve tethered underwater ROVs on 29 July 2026, for four military units; no value was disclosed.
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Why did Belgium choose tethered robots when the rest of the beat is going autonomous?
Timeline for Belgian Ministry of Defence
Published a TED tender for twelve tethered underwater ROVs
Autonomous Systems: Land & Sea: Belgium's twelve robots come with cablesBackground
Belgium's Ministry of Defence published TED notice 525183-2026 on 29 July 2026, seeking twelve tethered, human-operated underwater ROVs for its Engineer Divers, its Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service, its Naval Mine Warfare Group and its Special Forces Group. No contract value was disclosed.
As buyer, the ministry had to balance four different operational requirements in a single procurement: divers wanting a companion vehicle in the water, an EOD service wanting a tool that keeps a human in the loop around live ordnance, a mine-warfare group wanting cleared channels, and special forces wanting covert underwater access.
The specification calls for remotely operated, not autonomous, vehicles. That choice runs through all four units' requirements: a tethered link gives a human control at the moment a diver's tool touches unexploded ordnance, something none of the four units would trade for full autonomy.