The Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) has welcomed Vlissingen, its first vessel under the Replacement Mine Countermeasures (rMCM) programme.
The Vlissingen arrived in the Dutch naval port of Den Helder towards the end of last week ahead of her scheduled commissioning into active service, expected in May this year.
BNS Oostende, the first vessel for the Belgian Navy delivered under the rMCM programme, arrived in Zeebrugge in November.
In total 12 of the 83-metre ships will eventually be built for the Dutch and Belgian navies; Naval Group has designed the vessels and the ships are being built and assembled by Piriou, while Exail is in charge of the UxV mission system.
As per an RNLN press statement: “With this new class, the Navy works in a different way than before. The ship is a mothership for unmanned systems that operate above, on and under water.
“These systems detect, examine and defuse sea mines. The ship itself remains at a safe distance. This makes the work safer for the crew and ensures that operations can be carried out better….With the arrival of the Vlissingen, the Navy is taking an important step towards a modern and future-proof fleet.”
Naval Group’s surface ships Executive Vice President Vincent Martinot-Lagarde commented: “This is a highly symbolic and huge step… a world premiere, as Belgium delivers for the first time a vessel for another nation, an ally.”
And director of Exail Maritime Systems Jérôme Bendell added: “This milestone reflects our recognized expertise in autonomous mine countermeasure systems and our commitment to supporting the Royal Netherlands Navy with advanced, fully integrated unmanned capabilities.
“Together, we are contributing to strengthening NATO’s maritime security and European operational readiness.”
Between now and the date of official naming and commissioning in May, there will be further integration of the uncrewed systems, and more testing, and training in preparation for the ship’s full operational readiness.
- You can read more details on the RNLN website and on the Exail website