Belgium MoD press release
On Thursday February 20, Belgium, the Netherlands and France signed the official letter granting the sublicense to France. This gives the newcomer equal rights to the ship design of the platform developed by Naval Group as part of the rMCM program. In future, all three navies will have access to platforms similar to those used for the past 40 years with the current Tripartite class vessels.
Shared benefits
In July 2023, the three countries signed a memorandum of understanding on vessels and mine countermeasures capabilities. The aim was to promote synergies and common benefits in terms of mine countermeasures capabilities.
The aim is to increase the effectiveness of the rMCM and the French Système de lutte antimines futur (SLAMF), as well as to promote interoperability between the different systems.
The memorandum of understanding also provides for the creation of a steering committee, the supreme executive and decision-making body responsible for monitoring the agreements reached. This committee met on February 20 at the Royal Military Academy to officially launch the work.
Decisive measures
At a time when maritime security is more crucial than ever, Belgium is taking decisive steps to strengthen its naval capabilities. “This signature marks the start of an ambitious and forward-looking cooperation,” emphasized Air Force Brigadier General Frédéric Dupuis (DGMR).
“It reminds us that unity and cooperation are our best assets in facing new and complex challenges. By working together, we ensure that our navies remain at the forefront of mine countermeasures capabilities, ready to protect our maritime interests and those of our allies. This cooperation is a force multiplier: together, we can achieve far more than if we acted individually.”
Air Force Brigadier General Frédéric Dupuis
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Naval news comment:
France, Belgium and the Netherlands originally inked a letter of intent to cooperate in the mine warfare domain during Euronaval 2022. The mothership design of the Belgian-Dutch rMCM program will be used as a basic design for the French Navy’s “Bâtiments de guerre des mines” (BGDM) program.
French BGDMs will be ordered as part of stage 2 of the SLAM-F/MMCM program. Naval News previously reported that the first BGDM vessel was expected to be ordered by the DGA in 2023, but was postponed a first time for 2024 and then a second time. It now appears that the vessel will be ordered in 2025, according to the released draft finance bill.
France’s BGDM Motherships to feature some minor differences
Naval News understands that the main difference between the vessels will be the “toolbox handling system”: While the rMCM program relies systems mostly designed and produced (in Belgium) by French company Exail (formerly ECA Group), the French vessels will deploy unmanned systems designed and produced by French company Thales as part of the SLAMF program. The USVs are different, the UUVs are different and the ROV are different. One of the focus area is the launch and recovery system (LARS):
While the mast of Exail’s Inspector 125 USV can fold down, the Halcyon USV by Thales and L3Harris (formerly known as ASV Ltd) feature a fixed mast. Thales worked to adapt the mast that the USV may fit in both the LARS and mothership. Naval Group confirmed to Naval News that they have already adapted the LARS so that it may accommodate the Halcyon USV.
Seabed warfare missions
In addition, the French BGDMs will likely feature a lengthened hull compared to the rMCM motherships. The extra 3.60 meters required by the French Navy would be to accommodate a decompression chamber as well as Seabed Warfare mission modules. Unlike the Belgian and Dutch vessels, the French motherships will also be tasked with conducting seabed warfare missions. Incidentally, we reported about NATO’s idea of a “Mission Module” approach to deliver Seabed Warfare capability.
Which 40mm main gun?
In addition, some other systems may differ such as weapon and sensor systems. Naval News previously reported on the fact that the DGA was comparing two 40mm naval gun systems: The KNDS/Thales RapidFire and the Bofors 40 Mk4. Naval News learned the choice seemed have been made in favor of the RapidFire even though it is still to be confirmed by an order.
