Belgian Navy's First Mine Warfare Mothership Launched by Naval Group

On 29 March 2023, the first of the twelve mine countermeasure vessels of the Belgian-Dutch rMCM programme, the M940 "Oostende" intended for the Belgian Navy, was ceremonially launched in Concarneau.

On this occasion, Naval News interviewed the Chief of the Belgian Navy, the rMCM project leader and the Mine Warfare program manager at Naval Group

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These specialised and cyber secured by design mine countermeasures (MCM) vessels are the first to have the capability to embark and launch a combination of surface drones (themselves 12-metre, 18- tonne vessels), underwater drones and aerial drones. The mine countermeasures vessels will use a mainly autonomous system for detection, classification and neutralisation of mines. They can withstand underwater explosions and have very low acoustic, electrical and magnetic signatures, in line with the missions to be carried out.

The solution acquired by the Belgian and Dutch navies is a complete paradigm shift in the way mines are fought by adopting a remote position (stand-off) which reduces the risk for personnel and the mothership and allows a substantial increase in the speed of coverage of mined areas.

These mine countermeasure vessels have the following characteristics:
length: 82,6m ;
width: 17m ;
displacement: 2800t ;
maximum speed: 15,3 knots ;
range: 3500+ nautical miles ;
crew: 63 people (base crew 33 people) ;
combat System: Naval Group Polaris system

Drone capabilities: Exail UMISOFT System, 2 unmanned surface vehicles (Exail Inspector 125), 3 autonomous underwater vehicles (A-18 equipped with Exail UMISAS 120 sonar), 2 towed sonars (T-18 equipped with Exail UMISAS 240 sonar), 2 Mine Identification & Disposal Systems (MIDS) systems (Exail Seascan and K-Ster C), 1 unmanned aerial vessel (UMS Skeldar’s V200), 1 Exail influence mine sweeping system integrating 5 CTM magnetic modules et 1 PATRIA acoustic module ;
embarkation capacity: 2 SOLAS rigid hull inflatable boats of 7m ;
handling: 2 side launch & recovery systems for surface drones or commando boats, a 15t dedicated rear crane and a 3t overhead crane.

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