City-class mine countermeasures vessel
Ship design project of the Royal Netherlands Navy and Belgian Navy
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The City class, also known as Vlissingen class, is a ship class of twelve mine countermeasure vessels (MCMV) in service with the Belgian Navy and Royal Netherlands Navy.[24] The class is the result of a binational programme of Belgium and the Netherlands to replace their ageing Tripartite (Belgium) and Alkmaar (Netherlands) class minehunters.[25] As part of this programme each country ordered six identical MCMVs.[26][27] The new MCMVs, developed by Naval Group, will include a range of unmanned systems including unmanned surface, aerial and underwater vehicles alongside towed sonars and mine identification and neutralization remotely operated vehicles.[28]
_-_Dutch_Navy_countermeasure_in_construction.jpg)
- City class (Belgium)
- Vlissingen class (Netherlands)
- Designer:
- Builders:
- Piriou Concarneau (France)
- Kership Lorient (France)
- Shipyard ATG Giurgiu (Romania)
HNLMS Vlissingen under construction in 2025. | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Builders |
|
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | |
| Cost | €166.67 million per unit[note 1] |
| Built | Since November 2021[3] |
| In commission | Since November 2025[4] |
| Planned | 12[5] |
| Building | 5 |
| Completed | 1 |
| Active | 1 |
| General characteristics [6] | |
| Type | Mine countermeasures vessel |
| Displacement | 2,800 t (2,800 long tons) full load |
| Length | 82.6 m (271 ft 0 in)[7] |
| Beam | 17 m (55 ft 9 in)[8] |
| Draught | 3.80 m (12 ft 6 in) |
| Installed power | 32 MW (43,000 hp) |
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 15.3 knots (28.3 km/h; 17.6 mph) |
| Complement | 33 to 63[10] |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 2 × UMS Skeldar V-200 unmanned aerial vehicles[6] |
| Notes | |
Design and development
In early 2018, the Belgian and Dutch Navies signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the joint construction and financing of the ships.[citation needed] A list of requirements was drawn up for the new vessels. Contenders in the race were:
- The Franco-Belgium consortium made up of French shipbuilders STX France and Socarenam, and Thales together with Belgium's EDR are bidding for the 12 new MCMVs. Their plan includes the construction of MCMVs named Sea Naval Solutions and a multi-role frigate named Deviceseas, which will serve as mothership to the MCMVs. All ships will have a strong focus on autonomous systems operations.[29]
- France's Naval Group and ECA Robotics established Belgian subsidiary Naval & Robotics and bid for the program.[30][31]
- Imtech Belgium and Damen Group bid for the program.[30][31]
The contract was won by Naval Group and ECA Robotics on 15 March 2019.[30][31]
The mine countermeasures vessels have a length of 82 meters and displace 2,800 tonnes.[32] There are a total of around 80 unmanned systems aboard the vessels.[33]
Construction
A first steel cutting ceremony for the first-in-class ship for the Belgian Navy was held on 19 July 2021, with the keel being laid on 30 November 2021.[citation needed] Delivery of the first ship to the Belgian Navy is anticipated in 2024 and to the Royal Netherlands Navy in 2025.[34] The first ship for the Royal Netherlands Navy started on the 4 March 2022, with a steel cutting ceremony.[citation needed] The keel was laid on 14 June 2022.[35]
On 8 May 2024, the Belgian Ministry of Defence announced that contractor Belgium Naval & Robotics requested a delay to the construction of the first four vessels citing unforeseen circumstances. The delay caused the first vessel, Oostende, to be delivered eight months later than initially planned, pushing her commissioning back to 2025.[36] The second vessel, Vlissingen, is to be five-to-six months delayed, with Tournai and Scheveningen also seeing delays of two and one month(s) respectively.[37]
In July 2024, it was reported that the first mine countermeasures vessel, Oostende, had begun its sea trials.[38]
In November 2024 it was reported that operational qualification of the drone toolbox is planned to start during the first half of 2025.[39]
In March 2026 it was reported that the first mine countermeasures toolbox had been delivered to Belgium and the Netherlands.[40]
Equipment
Mission bay
The deployment system for the RHIB and the unmanned surface vessel was developed by Naval Group.[41] The mission bay is to be equipped with the "Launch and recovery system"(LARS).[42]
Drones
Surface vessels
The ECA Group INSPECTOR 125 unmanned surface vessel (USV) was ordered to be a centerpiece of the system. It has a low signature (magnetic and acoustic) which would prevent a mine from being triggered. The vessel is also designed to be unsinkable.[23] Its mission is focused on communications and deployment of the drones.[6] The function of these drones can range from explosive weapon detection to explosive weapon identification.[43] The USV can be deployed from the mission bay by a handling system.[42]
Operators
Current operators
Future operators
Netherlands (6)- Contract for the MCMVs in collaboration with Belgium in 2019, critical design review passed in June 2020.[45]
Potential operators
France- At Euronaval 2022, a partnership was signed between the Belgian, Dutch and French navies to enhance cooperation between them. As a result, the French Navy intends to order six vessels based on the City-class design to fulfill the role of BDGM motherships planned in the ongoing SLAM-F mine warfare program.[46][47]
Lithuania- A variant of the City-class as a multi-purpose offshore patrol vessel was offered by Naval Group to the Lithuanian Navy in December 2025.[48]
Ships in class
| Name | No. | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Delivered | Comm. | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Belgian NavyCity class | ||||||||
| Oostende | M-940 | Piriou Concarneau (hull), Naval Group, ECA Group |
30 Nov 2021[49] | 29 Mar 2023[50] | 3 Nov 2025[4] | 3 Nov 2025[4] | In service[4] | |
| Tournai | M-941 | 29 Mar 2023[50] | 2 Jul 2024[51] | Mar 2026[52] | – | Constructor's sea trials[53] | Initially planned for January 2026[52] | |
| Brugge | M-942 | 31 Jan 2024[54] | 30 Apr 2025 | Dec 2026[52] | – | Fitting out | ||
| Liège | M-943 | 21 Jan 2025[55] | – | Dec 2027[52] | – | Under construction[56] | ||
| Antwerpen | M-944 | 13 Jan 2026[57] | – | Dec 2028[52] | – | – | ||
| Rochefort | M-945 | – | – | Dec 2029[52] | – | – | ||
 Royal Netherlands NavyVlissingen class | ||||||||
| Vlissingen | M-840 | Kership Lorient | 14 Jun 2022[58] | 29 Sep 2023[59] | 27 February 2026[60] | – | Navy's sea trials[60] | |
| Scheveningen | M-841 | Shipyard ATG Giurgiu (hull), ECA Group, Kership Lorient (fitting out) |
19 Jul 2023[61] | 5 Nov 2024[62] | July 2026[52] | – | Under construction | Initially planned for June 2026[52] |
| IJmuiden | M-842 | 11 Jun 2024[63] | – | June 2027[52] | – | Under construction | ||
| Harlingen | M-843 | – | – | June 2028[52] | – | – | ||
| Delfzijl | M-844 | – | – | June 2029[52] | – | – | ||
| Schiedam | M-845 | – | – | June 2030[52] | – | – | ||