in its safety and defence policy report of 2004 the finnish government announced that, in addition to training mobile coastal troops and protecting sea traffic, the finnish navy would start focusing on developing its mine countermeasure capabilities. as a result a decision was made to retire the aging "kuha"-class minesweepers and invest in a new mine countermeasure fleet, which would include minehunters and -sweepers, divers and a new mine warfare information system.