Denmark's SH Group showcases containerized Cube naval mine laying system to turn patrol ships into minelayers.

Danish defense company SH Group presented its containerized Cube Mine Laying Module at Euronaval 2026 in Paris, integrating Finland's FORCIT BLOCKER Smart Influence naval mine with Germany's TKMS ATLAS ELEKTRONIK MPEXA-NG mine warfare planning software. The modular 20-foot ISO deployment system enables surface warships to conduct automated mine-laying missions without permanent hull modifications, offering rapid adaptability for maritime sea denial and coastal interdiction. The launch follows Denmark's November 5, 2026 announcement to join a five-nation European procurement program alongside Finland, Germany, Lithuania, and Norway to rebuild naval minelaying capabilities in the Baltic Sea.

The Cube Mine Laying Module is a container-sized system that allows compatible patrol ships and warships to be quickly converted into minelayers, using automated equipment to deploy naval mines with fewer crew members. (Picture source: Army Recognition)

Key Tactical Insights

- Modular Rapid Deployment: The Cube Mine Laying Module uses a standard 20-foot ISO container footprint, allowing non-dedicated surface vessels to conduct mine-laying operations without requiring permanent structural alterations.

- Integrated Planning & Ordnance: The system combines Finland's FORCIT BLOCKER Smart Influence seabed mines (exceeding 1,000 kg TNT equivalent) with TKMS ATLAS ELEKTRONIK's MPEXA-NG software for recorded minefield management.

- Multi-National Baltic Procurement: The module supports a five-nation procurement agreement involving Denmark, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, and Norway, designed to strengthen maritime sea denial and regional coastal defense.

On November 3, 2026, Danish company SH Group presented its Cube Mine Laying Module at Euronaval 2026, a containerized modular mine-laying system integrating Finland's Blocker Smart Influence naval mine and Germany's MPEXA-NG mine warfare planning system. Developed jointly with Forcit Defence and TKMS Atlas Elektronik, this system allows compatible naval vessels to undertake mine-laying missions without permanently installing dedicated mine-handling equipment. The main deployment unit occupies the footprint of a 20-foot ISO container, with separate storage modules available to increase the number of embarked mines.

The presentation also follows the June 25, 2026 multinational agreement involving Denmark, Finland, Germany, Lithuania and Norway to procure the same Blocker mines from Forcit Defence, reflecting a renewed European investment in naval mine warfare to be able to restrict access to ports, coastal waters and strategic shipping routes. The Cube Mine Laying Module occupies a standard 20-foot ISO container footprint measuring 6.058 m long and 2.438 m wide, allowing the principal deployment equipment to be accommodated within dimensions already used for naval mission modules and commercial cargo handling. It supports individual mine releases or predefined sequences, with semi-automated and fully automated handling intended to reduce direct crew contact with explosive weapons.

Related topic: Japan may deploy minesweepers in Strait of Hormuz after ceasefire if naval mines disrupt shipping

TKMS Atlas Elektronik's MPEXA-NG links minefield planning with deployment execution and recorded mine positions, and the logging function, which records mine-laying activity, permits subsequent minefield management and coordination with naval authorities. A ship with additional deck capacity could embark more storage modules without requiring the deployment of another unit, although this additional capacity still depends on mine dimensions, weight, available deck area and ship stability. For instance, four 20-foot modules would occupy at least 59.1 m², a significant consideration for smaller patrol vessels, particularly those also carrying boats, cranes or other mission equipment. Mine capacity, release rate, permissible deployment speed and operating sea state have not been specified, preventing a quantitative comparison with dedicated minelayers. 

How SH Group's Cube system turns existing ships into modular minelayers

The mine-laying module is intended to operate within SH Group's wider Cube architecture, which comprises interchangeable frames, movers, skidding rails, securing equipment and standardized electrical connections. The Base Frame supports payloads of up to 30 tonnes, while advanced Flex Frames permit remotely controlled module movement in sea state 6, equivalent to significant wave heights of 4 to 6 m. Integrated movers handle up to 25 tonnes, compared with 30 tonnes for external movers operating in less demanding conditions. Flush-mounted deck rails allow modules to be repositioned without repeated crane lifts, while hydraulic twist locks provide up to 25 tonnes of pull-down force per corner, with 16 locks controlled through one interface.

The Cube Connect supplies electrical power, data and auxiliary services, and a 35-tonne side loader can transfer eight 20-foot or four 40-foot containers in suitable configurations. The Cube system also accommodates 10-foot, 20-foot and 40-foot mission modules, including configurations for mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence and surveillance, unmanned systems, loitering munitions, command and control, medical facilities and boat launch-and-recovery equipment. Larger installations can combine several containers, including the Mega Cube configuration occupying four 40-foot container footprints. For mine warfare, the Cube uses the Blocker Smart Influence naval mine, a Finnish seabed weapon designed to respond to the physical signatures of passing vessels rather than requiring hull contact.

How the Finnish Blocker naval mine fits into NATO's mine warfare plans

Influence mines can use magnetic, acoustic, and pressure measurements to distinguish vessel movements from environmental disturbances, although the Blocker's specific sensor combination and activation logic have not been established. Forict attributes to the Blocker an explosive effect exceeding 1,000 kg of TNT equivalent, a figure that concerns explosive effect rather than necessarily indicating the physical mass of its charge, while the effective damage inflicted on a vessel would also depend on underwater conditions, detonation position, hull construction and the distance between the explosive and the target. The Blocker is also subject to a five-country procurement arrangement involving Finland, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania and Norway, with Finland coordinating the acquisition through Naval Mines Cooperation. The June 25, 2026 framework agreement also provides for a common mine configuration intended to improve interoperability and interchangeability between participating navies, while allowing national differences in operational programming.

The renewed European interest in naval mines follows a period during which many Western navies concentrated investment on mine countermeasures rather than maintaining substantial offensive and defensive mine-laying capacity, especially after the Ukraine war demonstrated the continuing risks to commercial shipping and naval movements in the Black Sea. Since February 2022, drifting mines have threatened vessels beyond the immediate combat area, prompting Romania, Bulgaria and Türkiye to establish a trilateral mine countermeasure initiative on January 11, 2024. The Baltic Sea presents a different operational environment, with restricted approaches, shallow coastal areas, major commercial ports and maritime routes connecting NATO members to the wider Atlantic, and naval mines have historically been used in such waters.

Why naval mines are becoming important again in the Baltic Sea and beyond

However, mine-laying capacity depends on more than ammunition stocks: navies require suitable ships, trained crews, hydrographic information, minefield records, and coordination with friendly traffic. Dedicated minelayers can carry substantial inventories but represent specialized assets whose availability may be limited, while submarines and aircraft provide alternative delivery methods with different payload and operational constraints. Therefore, containerized equipment such as the Cube could complement these assets by allowing existing surface vessels to undertake mining missions, although mine countermeasure forces remain necessary to reopen mined waters. The 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War particularly demonstrated how relatively simple naval mines could disrupt shipping and force a technologically superior navy to divert resources. On July 24, 1987, the U.S.-flagged tanker Bridgeton struck an Iranian mine near Farsi Island during Operation Earnest Will, despite traveling with five U.S. Navy escorts.

The tanker remained afloat, but the incident exposed inadequate mine countermeasure coverage and contributed to the additional deployment of eight MH-53 mine countermeasure helicopters, eight ocean-going minesweepers and six coastal minesweepers. On April 14, 1988, the frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) encountered another Iranian minefield approximately 55 miles northeast of Qatar, which opened a 6.4 m hole in its hull, caused extensive flooding, and injured ten sailors. Consequently, four days later, the United States launched Operation Praying Mantis with one aircraft carrier, 1 amphibious transport dock, 4 destroyers, one guided missile cruiser and three frigates, sinking the Iranian frigate Sahand and missile boat Joshan.

How naval mines damaged U.S. warships and disrupted operations in the Persian Gulf

These incidents, which remain relevant to the current Strait of Hormuz crisis, demonstrated how inexpensive mines could interrupt naval operations at several levels, from disrupting commercial shipping and requiring additional escort measures to damaging warships and contributing to military escalation. The 1991 Gulf War provided a further demonstration of the operational and financial consequences of naval mines against a force possessing overwhelming conventional naval superiority. Iraq deployed an estimated 1,150 mines in the northern Persian Gulf, including moored contact mines and bottom influence mines, complicating coalition operations near Kuwait and preparations for a possible amphibious assault.

On February 18, 1991, the USS Tripoli (LPH-10), which ironically served as the command ship for the coalition's mine countermeasure operations, struck an Iraqi contact mine containing 136 kg of explosives, resulting in a 4.9 by 6.1 m hull opening and four injured personnel. Less than two hours later, the USS Princeton (CG-59), a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser, was damaged by Iraqi bottom influence mines. Combined repair expenditure for those two ships exceeded $23 million in 1991 dollars, compared with estimated acquisition costs of $1,500 for the mine that damaged the USS Tripoli and $20,000 for the Manta-type influence mine associated with the USS Princeton.

The resulting repair expenditure exceeded the combined acquisition cost of the two mines by more than 1,000 times, excluding interrupted operations and clearance requirements, demonstrating that possessing the naval superiority does not eliminate the need for specialized mine countermeasure assets. The operational relevance of the Cube mine-laying module, therefore, lies in the possibility of expanding the number of existing ships that can undertake mine-laying missions without relying exclusively on dedicated minelayers. This would create a different force-allocation model from a permanently fitted minelayer, whose mine-handling equipment remains aboard even when the ship is assigned another task.

For example, the ability to exchange mission equipment would be most relevant to fleets already equipped with Cube Frames, skidding rails, securing arrangements and standardized electrical interfaces, because those ships would require fewer additional modifications among available hulls, allowing mine-laying missions to continue when individual ships are undergoing maintenance or committed to other duties. SH Group' system has also progressed beyond exhibition demonstrations: on June 11, 2025, the Danish patrol vessel Knud Rasmussen (P570) conducted trials involving 16 mines across six deployment routes, testing both semi-automatic and automatic operation. This could provide a practical basis to assign mine-laying equipment to a larger proportion of an existing fleet, potentially reducing the dependence of national mine warfare plans on a small number of specialized ships.

Explore More Defense News

• Land Defense News
• Naval Defense News
• Defense Aerospace News

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, South Korea, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.