Belgian Navy's first new MCM mother ship moors

The Belgian Navy's first MCM mother ship, BNS Oostende , pictured at its arrival at the naval base in Zeebrugge on 3 November 2025. (Guy Toremans)

The 81.4 m long, 2,830 tonne Oostende, lead ship of the Belgian Navy's six new City-class mine countermeasures vessels (MCMVs) under its replacement Mine CounterMeasure (rMCM) programme, arrived in Zeebrugge naval base on 3 November.

After a final inspection by the Belgian Armed Forces' Directorate General Material Resources (DGMR) Oostende is to be officially handed over on 7 November, after which it will start a comprehensive post-delivery at-sea testing programme, known as the operational evaluation (OPEVAL), which will run throughout 2026. Upon the successful completion of this phase, Oostende is expected to be officially commissioned at the end of 2026.

Commander Nicolas Doyen of BNS Oostende told Janes, “We are the first navy to have developed a new-generation of MCMVs with a stand-off MCM capability, able to master the full Detect-To-Engage cycle. She is the world's first warship to incorporate the Thales NS54 4D Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) air/surface radar and FN Herstal's Sea deFNder Remote Weapon Stations [RWSs] featuring 12.7 mm FN M2HB-QCB machine guns. Both the ship and our drones also feature highly secure communications, data encryption, and rigid cyber-security measures.”

Command systems

Naval Group's Polaris Combat Management System (CMS) comprises two software packages: one for the ship's sensors and weapons and one for everything related to minehunting. The command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) system ensures integration of the MCM systems into the mission management system (MMS). The combat information centre (CIC) features 12 multifunction consoles, large flat screens on the bulkheads, and an additional two consoles for the Sea deFNder RWS and two for operating Skeldar unmanned aircraft systems (UASs).