Naval Group has introduced the third ship of a mine countermeasure (MCM) vessel program between the Belgian Navy and the Royal Netherlands Navy.

Awarded to the company in 2019, the effort will construct six modern minehunters for Brussels and another six for the Dutch government.

Each will be based on Naval Group’s City-class MCM design to sustain uniformity between systems of both navies and cooperative dominance at sea.

The 12 ships will be accompanied by aerial, surface, and underwater drones to assist in anti-mine identification and neutralization missions, protecting the fleet against mines.

The program’s initial ship will be commissioned in 2025, while the final vessel is scheduled to arrive by 2030.

The third ship, “Tournai,” will be the second for the Belgian Navy and will be delivered in 2026.

‘Major’ EU Defense Cooperation

Belgium and the Netherlands assigned a memorandum of understanding in September 2023 which allowed the French government to utilize Naval Group’s MCM design and construct six additional ships.

Similar to the Belgian-Dutch fleet, the French Navy’s forthcoming vessels will incorporate onboard autonomous systems, with Paris-based defense contractor Thales serving as the drone developer.

“This programme is a major component of European defence cooperation,” Naval Group said in its press release.

“It demonstrates the ability of European states to work together and share a solution destined to become the benchmark in mine countermeasures, not only for the Belgian, Dutch and French navies but also for other partner navies in Europe and around the world.”

MCM for Belgium, Netherlands

The Belgian-Dutch minehunter will have a total length of 82.6 meters (270 feet) and accommodation for approximately 60 sailors.

It will have a maximum speed of 15.3 knots (28.3 kilometers/17.6 miles per hour) and a range of more than 3,500 nautical miles (6,482 kilometers).

The ship will carry rigid inflatable hull boats, overhead and stern cranes, mine identification and destruction systems, dredgers, and acoustic modules.