BELGIUM NAVAL & ROBOTICS chooses BAE Systems Bofors 40 Mk4 naval gun for 12 mine hunters of the Belgium and The Royal Netherlands Navies

Belgium Naval & Robotics selects BAE Systems as the supplier of the Naval Gun System for the Belgian and Royal Netherlands Navies Mine Countermeasures replacement program. The Bofors 40 Mk4 Gun System will give the mine-hunting vessel a superior self-defence capability. The Bofors 40 Mk4 is a flexible, high versatile gun system designed to react quickly in the littoral environment.

“The Bofors 40 Mk4 is the latest version of the Bofors naval gun systems: highly automated and with high firepower and great range”, says Stefan Löfström, Director of Marketing and Sales for BAE Systems Bofors, Sweden. “This contract expands the number of European nations deploying the Bofors 40 Mk4 and reflects the growing interest we are experiencing in the region.”

The Bofors 40 Mk4 is already in production for four nations including Finland and Sweden.

Belgium Naval & Robotics – a Naval Group and ECA GROUP consortium – was awarded in 2019 a contract for twelve mine hunters and their drone systems for the Belgian and Royal Netherlands Navies. After a design period of three years conducted by Naval Group, Kership will execute the detailed design and production phase.

Six ships will be delivered to the Belgian Navy and six to the Royal Netherlands Navy with a first delivery scheduled for 2024. They will be equipped with a complete drone system supplied by ECA GROUP containing a total of more than eighty underwater, surface and aerial drones entirely dedicated to mine counter measures operations.