HERning, Denmark — Swedish defense company Saab has unveiled its MCMV 24 mine countermeasures vessel concept at DALO Industry Days in Herning, Denmark. The 66-meter vessel is designed for operations in the Baltic Sea and similar littoral environments, where mine threats can extend from hostile coastlines across open waters and into friendly ports.
The MCMV 24 is designed to operate directly inside mine-threat areas rather than relying entirely on standoff distances. Saab's design considers conventional mines, air-dropped mines and potential future mine deployments by unmanned surface vessels (USVs).
The vessel uses a composite glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) hull, a technology developed by Saab's Kockums shipyard, along with other signature-reduction features. Unlike Sweden's current Koster-class vessels, originally built as the Landsort-class in the 1980s, the MCMV 24 uses traditional propellers instead of Voith Schneider propulsors. This reduces some maneuverability and signature-reduction advantages but allows a higher top speed of 22 knots.
Sensors and Armament
The MCMV 24 is equipped with the Saab Giraffe 1X radar and CEROS fire-control and electro-optical system. Armament options include a Bofors 40 mm deck gun, Saab Lightweight Torpedoes, known as TP 47 in Swedish service, and Saab Nimbrix C-UAS missiles.
Nimbrix is a lightweight, fire-and-forget hard-kill interceptor designed to counter drones at ranges of 2 to 5 kilometers. The missile weighs 2.5–3 kg, is less than one meter long, and uses an active seeker and air-burst warhead. Saab has developed it as a lower-cost layer between gun systems and longer-range very-short-range air-defense missiles, with first deliveries planned for 2026.
Unmanned Mine-Warfare Systems
The vessel includes a dedicated bow door for launching and recovering remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), including Saab's Double Eagle family. The aft deck provides space for containerized mission payloads and additional unmanned systems, including unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs).
A large stern ramp is also designed to deploy a medium mine-warfare USV. The Double Eagle family includes systems for mine disposal, reconnaissance and multi-shot neutralization, with variants operating at depths of up to several hundred meters.
Potential Replacement for Koster-Class
Saab is offering the MCMV 24 in dedicated mine-countermeasure, offshore patrol and coast guard configurations. The common-hull approach could allow navies to use one basic platform for different missions while reducing maintenance, training and operational requirements.
The design is being considered as a potential replacement for Sweden's Koster-class and could also meet requirements in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which have long focused on Baltic mine clearance while facing growing offshore patrol requirements.
Saab has confirmed that early discussions are underway with Denmark and Germany regarding the new platform. DALO Industry Days 2026 was held in Herning, Denmark, on August 19–20.
The MCMV 24 combines a low-signature hull and mine-warfare systems with higher speed, modern sensors, self-defense weapons and facilities for unmanned systems, giving the concept both mine-countermeasure and multi-mission capabilities.
Source : navalnews
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