Still smart from the front, but like a cockchafer from the side! The first mine defence platform of the Belgian-Dutch joint project rMCM, the Belgian "Oostende", was sighted in open sea for the first time in mid-July. The sea trials off Concarneau in southern Brittany initially focussed on the propulsion and navigation systems.
Oostende, Photo: Naval Group
The bilateral rMCM programme as a cooperation between Belgium Naval & Robotics (Naval Group and Exail) and Kership (Piriou and Naval Group) - with the latter as general contractor - is actually a trilateral project, as France has already expressed its interest. No surprise, since all the plans are available in Paris. This mine defence platform will be able to carry, deploy and retrieve flying, floating and submerged drones for the first time, as well as reconfigure them for specific tasks. Detection, classification, identification and neutralisation of mines and underwater ordnance will be "fully robotised". The hull should be able to withstand underwater explosions and have very low acoustic and electromagnetic radiation characteristics. An average of 63 crew members are to serve on board the units, which are almost 83 metres long and displace 2,800 tonnes. The delivery date for the first unit is summer 2025, while the second Belgian boat has just been christened "Tournai". "Vlissingen", the first Dutch unit, has been in the water since October and is due to be handed over in Den Helder at the end of 2025.
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