08/07/2020

UMS Skeldar's V-200 selected for Belgium's & The Netherlands MCM program

Skeldar V-200 UAS selected for BE/NL MCM programme – link

Source: Jane’s

French underwater systems and robotics group ECA has awarded UMS Skeldar a contract to supply its V-200 vertical take-off and landing UAS for the Belgium/Netherlands (BE/NL) next-generation offboard mine countermeasures (MCM) program
The program is being led by Belgium Naval & Robotics, a consortium comprising ECA and Naval Group, which was selected in 2019 to deliver a next-generation stand-off MCM capability based on mother ships employing a ‘toolbox’ of offboard MCM systems
Each nation is procuring six mother ships and five toolboxes
Under the terms of the ECA contract, Skeldar will supply 10 V-200 systems, with deliveries starting from 2023
The V-200 systems will be fully integrated with the toolboxes, which include the Inspector 125 unmanned surface vessel, the A18-M autonomous underwater vehicle, T18-M towed sonars and mine identification/destruction systems comprising the Seascan and K-ster C remotely operated vehicles
The first-of-class mother ship is planned to be delivered to the Belgian Navy by 2024, followed by the first Dutch unit in 2025. Subsequent units will be delivered at six-month intervals, alternating between both navies