The Tripartite class is a
class of mine warfare vessel used by the navies of Belgium,
France and the Netherlands, as well as Pakistan, Indonesia,
Latvia, and Bulgaria.
A joint venture of the navies of France,
Belgium, and the Netherlands,
the Tripartite class of minehunters were conceived in the 1970s and built in
the 1980s. France built the
mine-hunting equipment, Belgium
provided the electronics, and the Netherlands constructed the
propulsion train. France and
the Netherlands originally
bought 15, with Belgium
buying 10.
All three countries' Tripartite ships contribute at times to NATO's
Standing Maritime MCM capability groups (SNMCMG1 or SNMCMG2).
Ships of the class
France ("Éridan" class, Thales Group is
currently upgrading France's
Tripartite minehunters)
M641 Éridan
M642 Cassiopée
M643 Andromède
M644 Pégase M645 Orion
M646 Croix du Sud
M647 Aigle
M648 Lyre
M649 Persée (decommissioned in August 2009)
M650 Sagittaire
M651 Verseau (Ex Belgian M920 Iris) (decommissioned in February
2010)
M652 Céphée (Ex Belgian M919 Fuchsia)
M653 Capricorne (Ex Belgian M918 Dianthus)
Sagittaire is seen here arriving in Leith
on Friday 21st March.
