Uncrewed systems for the Belgian Navy’s second City-class mine countermeasures (MCM) vessel BNS Tournai are set to be tested this week as part of her ongoing sea trials.
The 82m warship, the third ship in the joint Belgian-Dutch rMCM programme, will be equipped with a wide range of autonomous surface drones, underwater vehicles, and aerial drones for remote mine detection and clearance.
The vessel is being kitted out with its drone capabilities, which will eventually include two Exail Inspector 125 uncrewed surface vessels (USVs); autonomous underwater vehicles; towed sonars; mine identification and destruction systems; and uncrewed aerial systems.
The rMCM vessel, which began her first sea trials in November 2025 off the coast of Lorient, France, is scheduled to be formally commissioned into service with the Belgian Navy next month.
As per recent Belgian Navy social media posts, ahead of this the warship has been embarking uncrewed systems ahead of more planned sea trials this week. Initial harbour tests have already been carried out with a V200 Saab Skeldar UAS, and further tests are due this week.
BNS Tournai has also embarked an Exail Inspector 125 USV equipped with a T18 towed sonar array ahead of the trials.
In total 12 of the rMCM ships will eventually be built for the Dutch and Belgian navies; the Vlissingen, the first rMCM vessel destined for the Royal Netherlands Navy, began sea trials in the summer of 2025 and is now scheduled to be delivered early next year.
BNS Oostende, the first vessel for the Belgian Navy, arrived in Zeebrugge in November last year. The third, Brugge, is currently being fitted out; and the keel of the fourth, Liege was laid down in January last year. Construction work on two further Dutch rMcM ships is also ongoing.
Naval Group has designed the vessels; and the Belgian ships are being built and assembled by Piriou. Exail is in charge of the UxV mission system for the programme. The ships are designed for fully autonomous remote MCM operations via the use of surface and underwater drones.
- You can read more details about BNS Tournai on the Belgian Armed Forces website
