HNLMS Schiedam, one of six remaining Alkmaar (Tripartite)-class minehunters in RNLN service. (Michael Nitz – Naval Press Service)
The Ukrainian Navy's mine countermeasures (MCM) capabilities are set to receive another boost with the donation of Dutch Alkmaar (Tripartite)-class minehunters.
While visiting southern Ukraine during the third week of March, Dutch Minister of Defence Kajsa Ollongren confirmed plans to donate two Alkmaar-class minehunters as part of a military aid package that also included drone detection radar systems and an M3 amphibious bridge-building and ferry system.
The two minehunters are planned to be transferred from 2025 when the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) expects to receive the first of six new-generation MCM vessels being procured under the Belgian-Netherlands (BE/NL) replacement MCM (rMCM) programme.
The M3 system and drone detection radar systems will be acquired directly from industry partners.
The Dutch MCM vessels are intended to help clear the Black Sea of mines laid during the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The Netherlands and Belgian navies, and possibly other allies, will also provide training to the Ukrainian crew on how to use the minehunters, starting in the second half of 2023, Ollongren said.
The RNLN operates a fleet of six remaining Alkmaar-class MCM vessels of an original class of 15 that entered service in the 1980s. Five have been sold to Latvia, two to Pakistan, and two to Bulgaria.
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