Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) standing mine countermeasures immediate reaction force. Its role is to provide NATO with an immediate operational response capability.
The Belgian Navy, officially the Naval Component of the Belgian Armed Forces, is the naval service of Belgium.
Type 320 Lindau-class minehunters was a class of German coastal minehunters built as part of the first FRG naval program. The ships were made from non-metallic components and built by Burmester Bremen. None of these ships now remain in service with the German Navy. Several went into service with the Estonian and Lithuanian Navy, as well as the Latvian Naval Forces. Flensburg and Weilheim became museum pieces.
The Tripartite class is a class of minehunters developed from an agreement between the navies of Belgium, France and the Netherlands. A total of 35 ships were constructed for the three navies. The class was constructed in the 1980s–1990s in all three countries, using a mix of minehunting, electrical and propulsion systems from the three member nations. In France, where they are known as the Éridan class they are primarily used as minehunters, but have been used for minesweeping and ammunition transport in Belgium and the Netherlands, where the Tripartites are known as the Alkmaar class.
Aster is a Tripartite-class minehunter of the Belgian Naval Component, launched on 16 December 1985 at the Mercantile-Belyard shipyard in Rupelmonde and christened by Queen Paola of Belgium. The patronage of Aster was accepted by the city of Blankenberge. Aster was the first of the Belgian Tripartite-class minehunters.
Bellis (M916) is a Tripartite-class minehunter of the Belgian Naval Component, launched on 14 February 1986 at the Mercantile-Belyard shipyard in Rupelmonde and christened by Ellen Goffinet-Rosman, the wife of the then Mayor of Arlon, on 18 September 1986. The patronage of Bellis was accepted by the city of Arlon. It was the second of the Belgian Tripartite-class minehunters.
Crocus (M917) is a Tripartite-class minehunter of the Belgian Naval Component, launched on 3 September 1986 at the Mercantile-Belyard shipyard in Rupelmonde and completed on 5 February 1987. The patronage of Crocus was accepted by the city of Genk. It was the third of the Belgian Tripartite-class minehunters.
Narcis (M923) is a Tripartite-class minehunter of the Belgian Naval Component, launched in 1990, at the Mercantile-Belyard shipyard in Rupelmonde and christened by Mrs. Lafosse-De Backer, the wife of the then Mayor of Mons, on 14 March 1991. The patronage of Narcis was accepted by the city of Mons. It was the ninth of the Belgian Tripartite-class minehunters. The Belgian government chose to deploy the ship as part of its involvement with enforcing the Libyan no-fly zone.
The Belgian minehunter Primula (M924) is a Tripartite-class minehunter of the Belgian Naval Component, launched on 20 December 1990 at the Mercantile-Belyard shipyard in Rupelmonde and christened by Mrs. Adriaensens, the wife of the then Mayor of Willebroek, on 12 June 1991. The patronage of Primula was accepted by the city of Willebroek. It was the tenth and last of the Belgian Tripartite-class minehunters.
Tsibar is a Tripartite-class minehunter of the Bulgarian Navy. The ship was formerly Myosotis (M922) of the Belgian Naval Component. Myosotis' keel was laid on 6 July 1987 at Ostend yard of Beliard-Murdoch. She was launched on 4 August 1988 and completed on 14 December 1989. Myosotis was stricken from the Belgian Naval Component in 2004 and sold to Bulgaria.
PNS Munsif (M166) is the lead ship of the Munsif-class minehunter currently in service with the Pakistan Navy.
Imanta (M-04) is the lead ship of the Tripartite class of minehunters for the Latvian Naval Forces. The vessel was formerly HNLMS Harlingen (M854), a Tripartite-class minehunter of the Royal Netherlands Navy built in 1984. Alkmaar and Imanta are, respectively, the Dutch and Latvian navies' names of the Tripartite class of minehunters, developed jointly by France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
The Double Eagle is a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) built by the Swedish defence company Saab Underwater Systems AB and used for the disposal of naval mines.
Operation Unified Protector was a NATO operation in 2011 enforcing United Nations Security Council resolutions 1970 and 1973 concerning the Libyan Civil War and adopted on 26 February and 17 March 2011, respectively. These resolutions imposed sanctions on key members of the Gaddafi government and authorized NATO to implement an arms embargo, a no-fly zone and to use all means necessary, short of foreign occupation, to protect Libyan civilians and civilian populated areas.
The Alkmaar class is a ship class of fifteen minehunters that were built in the Netherlands for the Royal Netherlands Navy. They are based on the design of the Tripartite class, which was developed by a collaborative effort between the Netherlands, Belgium and France, and replaced the minesweepers and minehunters of the Dokkum class.
Bellis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae.
This article represents the structure of the Belgian Armed Forces as of May 2020:
The Netherlands and Belgium are doing a joint procurement for the replacements of the Tripartite-class/Alkmaar-class minehunters. Each of the two countries is procuring six new mine countermeasure (MCM) vessels, which makes for a total of 12 MCM ships. The new MCM ships, developed by Naval Group, will include a range of unmanned systems including unmanned surface, aerial and underwater vehicles alongside towed sonars and mine identification and neutralization ROVs.
Oostende (M940) is the first ship in the City-class mine countermeasures vessels. She is being constructed in France for the Belgian Navy.
HNLMS Scheveningen (M841) is the fourth ship in the City / Vlissingen-class mine countermeasures vessels, and second to be built for the Royal Netherlands Navy.
Belgium
