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Second rMCM vessel begins sea trials, advances autonomous minesweeping

1st April 2025 - 17:17 GMT | by Tony Fyler in Swansea

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The Vlissingen on its sea trials in March 2025. (Photo: Belgium Naval & Robotics)

The rMCM programme will ultimately comprise of 12 vessels, six each working for the Belgian and the Royal Netherlands Navy.

The Vlissingen, the second vessel in the Belgian-Dutch remote mine countermeasures (rMCM) programme has begun its sea trials phase before being sent into service.

The 12-vessel programme, with six ships each being designated to the Belgian Navy and the Royal Netherlands Navy, was launched in 2023, as an intended replacement for the ageing Tripartite-class MCM vessels.

The first of the vessels destined for the Belgian Navy, the Oostende, began its sea trials in July 2024.

That ship is currently undergoing trials of its combat system in the Naval Group shipyard in Lorient, and is expected to

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