ship coalition. What boats will Ukraine get

Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov announced the creation of a “ship coalition” in support of Ukraine.

The Netherlands and Belgium will provide Ukraine with two minesweepers. Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov announced the creation of a “ship coalition” in support of our country, which already includes three countries.

The transfer of the ships was announced by the head of the Dutch defense department Kaisa Ollongren on March 14 in a meeting with Reznikov in Odessa. True, it is expected that Ukraine will receive boats only in 2025, because in a year and a half they will be taken out of service in the Netherlands. But training in the operation of these ships for Ukrainian sailors will begin this year.

“We understand the strategic and economic importance of Odessa ports for food imports for trade, and this of course has connections with the rest of the world. The Netherlands provides two Alkmaar class minehunters and we will start training Ukrainian units so they know how to use these ships,” Ollongren said.

“The issue of demining the Black Sea will not be resolved at the end of the war, so these minesweepers are a contribution to the future of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” he added.

Ollongern also announced the transfer of an amphibious military vehicle to Ukraine to create temporary water crossings.

“Mine Hunters”

The Alkmaar is a class of minesweepers developed by Belgium, France and the Netherlands based on the French Circe-class minesweeper. A total of 35 ships were built for their fleets in the 1980s and 1990s. The main purpose of these boats is to detect, sort and destroy naval mines.

All three countries built their own hulls, each responsible for different aspects of the ships. France provided mine detection systems and electronic systems, the Netherlands provided the main propulsion system, and Belgium provided mine search propulsion systems and electrical generator sets, Militarny said.

In the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Alkmaar-class minehunters were originally designed similarly to the Belgian and French versions with a standard displacement of 520 tons, but the displacement was later increased to 571 tons and later to 630 tons.

For the Netherlands minesweepers, the originally planned 20 mm gun was removed, leaving only three 12.7 mm machine guns. The ship’s crew included 4 officers, 15 privates and 17 sailors.

Starting in 2003, the “mine hunters”, as these ships were known, were upgraded with advanced electronics, including the Atlas Elektronik INCMS naval tactical data system. Thales 2022 Mk III sonar and ROV Atlas Seafox and Double Eagle Mk III Mod 1 detection and neutralization systems were also installed.

“The ships planned to be sent to Ukraine underwent a deep modernization in the first decade of the 2000s to upgrade their capabilities, are in good condition and currently perform tasks as intended,” said the Ukrainian Navy.

“Coalition Fleet”

Oleksiy Reznikov at a meeting in Odessa announced the creation of a “ship coalition” in support of Ukraine, which already includes Great Britain, the Netherlands and Belgium.

“Now there is a trend towards the creation of several coalitions in the interests of Ukraine. There was a tank coalition, before that an air coalition. Now a naval coalition is emerging. Thanks to today’s announcement of the Netherlands on the provision of minesweepers ( mine hunters), we can essentially say that a naval coalition has been created,” he said.

The Minister also recalled that the UK had already provided two minesweepers, on which Ukrainian personnel were officially located and the flag of the Navy of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was raised.

“At least three countries (including Belgium) are already part of the naval coalition,” Reznikov said.

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