TRIDENT
Exail rigid-hull inflatable boat system that deploys K-STER C mine-disposal vehicles.
Belgium's defence ministry gave Exail a €9.87m direct award on 14 September 2026 for three TRIDENT mine-clearance kits destined for Ukraine, with 24 months to deliver.
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Will Belgium's three TRIDENT systems reach Ukraine within 24 months?
Timeline for TRIDENT
Belgium buys Exail mine kit for Ukraine
Autonomous Systems: Land & SeaBackground
The name abbreviates a tactical RHIB built to identify and dispose of explosive naval threats. Exail builds it as a rigid-hull inflatable boat that carries and launches the company's K-STER C expendable mine-disposal vehicle. The pairing lets a small CREW find and destroy a SEA mine from a boat rather than from a dedicated minehunter.
The system's customer base so FAR is defined by one order. Belgium bought three for Ukraine on 14 September 2026 for €9.87m, with delivery due within 24 months. The French parent, Exail Technologies, keeps its own name while the Thales merger runs until 2028.
Its significance lies in scale: three systems, bought urgently and directly, put a boat-launched mine-clearing kit in Ukrainian hands within two years.
Three systems are bound for Ukraine
TRIDENT's largest published order came on 14 September 2026, when Exail Robotics Belgium won a €9.87m Belgian defence ministry contract for three systems destined for Ukraine, without competition, on a 24-month contract. Naval News reported that the ministry cited urgency and Exail's exclusive rights.
In July an unnamed European navy ordered three light Exail mine-countermeasures systems, and the Belgian notice fits that description. Neither Exail nor Belgium has said whether the two are the same contract. Set against European subsea notices from 5 September to 7 October, which bought almost nothing but single units, the TRIDENT award was the largest sum in the period.
