French company Kership has launched the third City-class mine countermeasures (MCM) vessel for the Belgian Navy in Lorient.
The milestone is part of a Belgian-Dutch bilateral program to construct a new anti-mine fleet based on a similar platform, maintaining their military’s interoperability to achieve cooperative dominance at sea.
Work for the BNS Brugge (M942) will be completed at Concarneau until its scheduled commissioning by 2026.
After the ship’s delivery, Kership and its parent companies, Naval Group and Piriou, will construct three more MCM vessels for Brussels through the 2030s.
For Amsterdam, a total of six platforms have been ordered to date, with the country’s lead ship expected to arrive by the end of this year.
BNS BRUGGE | Launch ⚓🚀🌊
[NL 1/2] Tewaterlating M942 Brugge – nieuw mijnenbestrijdingsvaartuig voor de Marine.
De BNS Brugge is het derde van zes nieuwe schepen. Het zal nu verder afgewerkt worden in Concarneau.@BelgiumDefence @COM_BelgianNavy pic.twitter.com/5ephE2CHzS— Belgian Navy 🇧🇪 (@TheBelgianNavy) May 4, 2025
The City-Class Fleet
The City-class MCMs for Belgium and the Netherlands are designed after Naval Group’s proprietary mine killer ship system.
Each vessel will consist of next-generation unmanned systems to support the countries’ transition into autonomous anti-mine warfare goals.
A City MCM measures 82 meters (269 feet) in length and has a beam of 17 meters (56 meters).
It will be powered by a main diesel generator, two support generators, twin electric motors, two axles, two transverse bow thrusters, and a transverse stern thruster.
The vessel can carry more than 60 personnel and provides space for two medium-range helicopter drones, small rigid-hull inflatable boats, an unmanned surface vehicle, cranes, and other MCM mission modules.
It will be armed with a naval cannon, .50-caliber machine guns, support machine guns, water cannons, and multiple sensors to scan, identify, and track sea mines.
The City-class ship will have a speed of 15 knots (28 kilometers/17 miles per hour) and a range of over 3,500 nautical miles (6,482 kilometers/4,027 miles).
MCMs For France
In 2022, the City-class program was joined by France, with the country planning to order six of its own ships for the navy.
Paris intends to build its fleet in partnership with Naval Group, with some modifications to complement the French Navy’s specific requirements.
