Belgian Minister of Defence Ludivine Dedonder last week detailed for the first time the toolbox ordered for the Belgian-Dutch rMCM program.

SCANTER 6000 radar solution closing the gap between standard marine navigation radars and more expensive military surveillance radar systems and secures total situational awareness on Belgian/Netherlands replacement MCMV program.

The Belgian Navy’s Karel Doorman-class frigate Leopold 1er (F930) and the French Navy’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG) will meet again in 2021, according to colonel Frédéric Givron, from the Belgian Armed Forces staff in Evere.

Following a call for tenders, Kership, a subsidiary of the shipyards Naval Group and Piriou, has selected ENGIE Solutions to carry out the studies and installation of all the HVAC systems (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning) and cold rooms on 6 minesweepers for the Royal Belgian Navy and 6 other ships for the Netherlands.

Admiral Jan De Beurme officially took command of the Belgian Navy (Belgian Marine Component, Marinecomponent or Composante marine) on September 28 during a ceremony held at the Zeebruge Naval Base.

Saab has signed a contract with Kership, a joint venture of Naval Group and Piriou, to supply its TactiCall integrated communication system (ICS) for the Belgian and Dutch Navies MCM program. Delivery of the first of twelve mine hunters is expected for 2024.

The Royal Netherlands Navy (Koninklijke Marine) and Belgian Navy (Marinecomponent/Composante marine) will replace their current M-frigates (Karel Doorman-class), the Dutch MoD confirmed today in an official statement. The future frigates’ main task will be anti-submarine warfare (ASW) thanks to a new type of torpedo and their embarked NH90 NFH maritime helicopter.

The construction of the Future Surface Combatant for the navies of the Netherlands (Koninklijke Marine) and Belgium (Belgian Naval Component) could face a further delay according to local media. The two parties don't seem to agree on some of the specifications of the so-called M-Frigate replacement.

The Belgian Navy’s future research vessel Belgica was launched on 11 February 2020 at the Freire Shipyard in Vigo, Spain. The delivery of the ship in Zeebrugge, Belgium, is scheduled for the last quarter of this year.

ECA Group, an expert in robotics, automated systems, simulation and industrial processes, will build its new plant in the port of Ostend in order to carry out the contract to supply their unmanned systems for the 12 minesweepers of the Belgian and Dutch navies.