Manufacturer catalog

Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN)

Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN) is the Cherbourg shipyard within the CMN NAVAL group, focused on naval vessels, patrol craft, fast attack craft, interceptors, corvettes, support services, and related maritime industrial work. CMN traces its shipbuilding history to Félix Amiot's postwar move from aircraft production into naval construction and is publicly associated with the Combattante fast-attack-craft family, French patrol vessels, and export corvette programs.

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CMN operates from Cherbourg, France, where CMN NAVAL describes a covered shipbuilding site of about 48,000 square meters within a 110,000-square-meter facility. The yard's infrastructure includes large building halls, a slipway for vessels under 700 tonnes, and a 3,000-tonne Syncrolift, giving the company a public industrial footprint suited to fast patrol vessels, offshore patrol vessels, corvettes, and other naval craft below major-combatant scale.

The company's public product range spans high-speed interceptors, Combattante fast attack craft, Vigilante patrol vessels, offshore patrol vessels, landing craft, unmanned surface vessels, and corvettes. Its own history emphasizes the Combattante line as a signature export family, while current CMN NAVAL material places the Cherbourg yard inside a wider group that combines French shipbuilding with German Naval Yards in Kiel and Isherwoods integrated-logistics support in the United Kingdom.

Naval shipbuildingFast attack craftOffshore and coastal patrol vesselsCorvettesHigh-speed interceptorsCombat-system integration and lifecycle support

Notable Systems

Flamant-class patrol vessel, Patrouilleur de service public / OPV54 patrol vessel, Naval Systems

Flamant-class patrol vessel

Patrouilleur de service public / OPV54 patrol vessel

French OPV54 public-service patrol vessels associated with CMN in specialist reporting and cataloged here as a current French Navy patrol-vessel class.

Sources: CMN shipyard, Flamant class Offshore Patrol Vessel OPV French Navy Marine
Baynunah class, Multi-mission corvette, Naval Systems

Baynunah class

Multi-mission corvette

Multi-mission corvette program publicly described with CMN design work, first-of-class construction at Cherbourg, and transfer-of-technology support for Abu Dhabi Ship Building.

Sources: ADSB Celebrates Another Baynunah Keel Laying, CMN Launches BR71 MkII NRA EKUIKUI II

Manufacturer History

  1. CMN founded at Cherbourg

    CMN identifies its Cherbourg shipyard heritage as beginning in 1946 under Félix Amiot, whose postwar industrial move from aviation into shipbuilding shaped the yard's early identity.

    Sources: CMN official site, CMN Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie

  2. First vessel launched

    GlobalSecurity's CMN background records the yard's first vessel as a wooden trawler launched on 23 June 1948, before later specialization in minesweepers, patrol boats, and fast attack craft.

    Sources: CMN Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie

  3. Circé minehunter era

    CMN's laminated-wood construction work became prominent in minehunter production, with the Circé class cited as a major series built around non-magnetic, noise-control advantages.

    Sources: CMN Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie

  4. Baynunah program role documented

    MarineLink reported the first Baynunah-class vessel under construction at CMN's Cherbourg shipyard and described CMN roles in design, first-vessel construction, technology transfer, logistics, and training.

    Sources: ADSB Celebrates Another Baynunah Keel Laying

  5. BR71 MkII launched at Cherbourg

    CMN NAVAL said CMN launched the first BR71 MkII corvette for the Angolan Navy at Cherbourg, part of a three-ship program delivered with Abu Dhabi Ship Building cooperation.

    Sources: CMN Launches BR71 MkII NRA EKUIKUI II

Website links
CMN official siteCMN shipyard pageCMN products and servicesEuropean Atlantic Strategy partner record

CMN NAVAL and CMN public material use several closely related labels, including CMN, Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie, and CMN NAVAL. The sourced scope here is the Cherbourg CMN shipyard and its role inside the CMN NAVAL group.

Manufacturer Sources

  • CMN official sitePublisher: Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie | Note: Official CMN site supporting the 1946 heritage, CMN NAVAL group relationship, key figures, Combattante history, product-range context, and general company focus. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • CMN shipyardPublisher: CMN NAVAL | Note: Official CMN NAVAL shipyard page supporting the Cherbourg location, address, covered-facility size, site area, building halls, slipway, Syncrolift, and workforce scale. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • CMN products and servicesPublisher: Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie | Note: Official product page supporting CMN naval-vessel categories, corvette, Combattante, Vigilante, patrol-vessel, interceptor, landing-craft, and services focus areas. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • CMN NAVAL shipbuildingPublisher: CMN NAVAL | Note: Official CMN NAVAL group page supporting CMN's position alongside German Naval Yards and Isherwoods, the group's shipbuilding and lifecycle-support structure, and the range from high-speed interceptors to larger combat vessels. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • CMN Atlantic Strategy partner recordPublisher: European Commission Atlantic Assistance Mechanism | Note: European partner record supporting CMN's Cherbourg address, France country, large-business classification, and shipbuilding and ship-repair activity. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • CMN Constructions Mécaniques de NormandiePublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Reference background supporting Félix Amiot context, first-vessel launch date, minehunter and glued-laminated-wood history, covered-yard facilities, vessel families, and legacy production scale. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Flamant class Offshore Patrol Vessel OPV French Navy MarinePublisher: seaforces.org | Note: Specialist naval reference supporting the OPV54/Flamant class builder attribution and basic patrol-vessel context. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • ADSB Celebrates Another Baynunah Keel LayingPublisher: MarineLink / Maritime Activity Reports | Note: Defense-maritime reporting supporting CMN's Baynunah design role, first-vessel construction at Cherbourg, and transfer-of-technology, logistics, and training roles. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • CMN Launches BR71 MkII NRA EKUIKUI IIPublisher: CMN NAVAL | Note: Official CMN NAVAL news release supporting the March 2026 BR71 MkII launch at Cherbourg and the Angolan Navy three-corvette program with ADSB cooperation. | Accessed: 2026-07-11

Produced weapons

Category

Naval Systems

Warships, submarines, unmanned surface vessels, naval craft, and maritime combat systems.

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Flamant-class patrol vessel, Patrouilleur de service public / OPV54 patrol vessel, Naval SystemsFlamant-class patrol vesselPatrouilleur de service public / OPV54 patrol vesselBuilt in: FranceThe Flamant class is a three-ship French Navy OPV54 public-service patrol-vessel class used for Action de l'Etat en mer tasks in the Channel and North Sea, including maritime traffic surveillance, fisheries policing, anti-trafficking patrols, pollution response, and sea rescue. The Cherbourg-based ships entered service in 1997, carry two 12.7 mm machine guns, and remain active while the French Navy extends their service into the mid-2030s.