Thales has signed a contract with the Estonian Navy to provide an additional 12 months of technical support and maintenance to two former Royal Navy (RN) mine countermeasures vessels (MCMVs) now serving with the Estonian fleet. The contract was signed by the Chief of the Estonian Navy, Captain Igor Schvede, at the Estonian Navy Headquarters at Tallinn. During the meeting, discussions were also initiated on how Thales could help the Estonian Navy achieve their ambition of creating an indig¬en¬ous sonar support capability in future years. The two former RN Sandown-class vessels – HMS Sandown and HMS Inver¬ness – were decommissioned and sold to Estonia in 2006. The vessels were re-named ENS Admiral Cowan and ENS Sakala.