Belgian, Dutch Mine Hunters to be Armed with Bofors Naval Guns

BAE Systems has been selected to supply 12 Bofors 40 Mk4 naval guns to the Belgian and Dutch navies as part of the Mine Counter Measures Vessels (MCMV) program.

The shipbuilding company Kership will install the guns on the fleet of 12 mine hunting vessels – six for Belgium, six for the Netherlands – with the first ship scheduled for delivery to the Belgian Navy in 2024.

The automated Bofors 40 Mk4 gun system is lightweight and compact. It combines long range and a high rate of fire, giving the mine hunting vessels a greater level of defense against surface, air, and shore-based threats.

The project involves building twelve mine hunters equipped with drone systems (Toolbox) to the Belgian and Dutch navies. The contract will span over ten years.

Six ships will be delivered to the Belgian Navy and six to the Royal Dutch Navy with a first delivery scheduled for September 2024. They will be equipped with a complete drone module containing a total of more than eighty underwater, surface and aerial drones entirely dedicated to mine hunting.

Naval Group is tasked with producing computer networks, electrical installations, propulsion or combat systems that will go on the ships; while the drones are manufactured by ECA Group.