Vlissingen, the second of the series of mine countermeasures vessels of the Belgian-Dutch rMCM program, first intended for the Royal Netherlands Navy, began its first sea trials campaign from Concarneau, France, on March 27, 2025.
As disclosed, during this first day at sea, the ship’s performance was put to the test, particularly its propulsion system and maneuverability. Several sea trial campaigns will then follow to test all the systems before her delivery at the end of 2025. The aim is to implement and test at sea the vessel ‘s performance before its delivery.
The rMCM program is being led by Belgium Naval & Robotics, a consortium formed by Naval Group and Exail, involving Kership (a joint venture between Piriou and Naval Group) as the industrial prime contractor.
The program is a major component of European defense cooperation. Naval Group is responsible for ship design, overall mission systems integration, testing, and commissioning. The ships are built and assembled by Kership and Chantier Piriou, under the overall industrial management of Kership, a joint venture between Naval Group and Piriou.
Exail is in charge of the drone mission system. Most of these drones will be produced and maintained in Exail Belgium subsidiary based in Ostend.
The first vessel, Oostende, intended for the Belgian Navy, is currently undergoing trials of its combat system in the Naval Group Lorient shipyard. It will be delivered during the summer of 2025.
On the other hand, the first sea trials of Tournai, the third vessel of the program and the second unit intended for the Belgian Navy, are planned for the end of the summer of 2025.
Furthermore, the fourth vessel, Scheveningen, the second vessel intended for the Royal Netherlands Navy, was launched in November 2024.
These mine countermeasure vessels have the following characteristics:
The ships are the first to have the capability to embark and launch a combination of surface drones (themselves 12-meter, 19-tonne vessels), underwater drones, and aerial drones.
The mine countermeasures vessels will use a mainly autonomous system for the detection, classification, identification and neutralization of mines. Furthermore, they can withstand underwater explosions and have very low acoustic, electrical, and magnetic signatures, in line with the missions to be carried out, according to Naval Group.
All twelve vessels ordered in the frame of the rMCM program will be delivered before the end of 2030.