The Netherlands armed forces are the military forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The armed forces consist of four service branches: the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Royal Netherlands Army, the Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. The service branches are supplemented by various joint support organizations. In addition, local conscript forces exist on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curaçao. These operate under the auspices of the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Netherlands Marine Corps. The armed forces are part of the Ministry of Defence.
The Royal Netherlands Navy is the maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It was founded on 8 January 1488, making it the third-oldest naval force in the world.
The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps is the elite naval infantry corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy, one of the four Armed Forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The marines trace their origins to the establishment of the Regiment de Marine on 10 December 1665, by the then grand pensionary of the Dutch Republic, Johan de Witt and famous Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. It is the second-oldest still-active marine corps in the world.
The Royal Netherlands Air Force is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It was created in 1953 to succeed its predecessor, the Luchtvaartafdeling of the Dutch Army, which was founded in 1913. The aerobatic display team of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, active from 1979 until 2019, was the Solo Display Team.
The Royal Netherlands Army is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the Staatse Leger was raised making the Dutch standing army one of the oldest in the world. It fought in the Napoleonic Wars, World War II, the Indonesian War of Independence and the Korean War, as well as served with NATO on the Cold War frontiers in West Germany from the 1950s to the 1990s.
The Walrus-class submarine is the only submarine class currently in operation in the Royal Netherlands Navy. The boats have been in service since 1990 and are all named after sea mammals.
HNLMS Walrus (S802) was a Walrus-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy. After a long delay following a serious fire during construction, the submarine entered service in 1992. Walrus was deployed both for naval exercises and in combat operations around the world. She was decommissioned in October 2023.
A Landing Craft Utility (LCU) is a type of boat used by amphibious forces to transport equipment and troops to the shore. They are capable of transporting tracked or wheeled vehicles and troops from amphibious assault ships to beachheads or piers.
The Ministry of Defence is the Dutch ministry responsible for the armed forces of the Netherlands and veterans' affairs. The ministry was created in 1813 as the Ministry of War and in 1928 was combined with the Ministry of the Navy. After World War II in the ministries were separated again, in this period the Minister of War and Minister of the Navy were often the same person and the state secretary for the Navy was responsible for daily affairs of the Royal Netherlands Navy. In 1959 the ministries were merged once again. The ministry is headed by the Minister of Defence, currently Ruben Brekelmans, assisted by the Chief of the Defence, Onno Eichelsheim.
HNLMS Karel Doorman is a multi-function support ship for amphibious operations of the Royal Netherlands Navy, which is also used by the German Navy. The ship replaced both of the navy's replenishment oilers: HNLMS Zuiderkruis and HNLMS Amsterdam. At 204.7 m she is the largest ship in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy.
HNLMS Zeeleeuw (S803) is a Walrus-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy. She entered service in 1990 as the first submarine of the Walrus class, after the intended lead ship, HNLMS Walrus, was delayed for a long period following a serious fire during construction. Zeeleeuw has been deployed both for naval exercises and in combat operations around the world. Furthermore, the submarine plays an important role by performing intelligence operations. The submarine has undergone a mid-life maintenance and upgrade program between 2014 and 2016, and is currently in active service.
HNLMS Dolfijn (S808) is a Walrus-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy. She entered service in 1993 as the third submarine of the Walrus class, after HNLMS Walrus and HNLMS Zeeleeuw. Dolfijn has been deployed both for naval exercises and in combat operations around the world. Furthermore, the submarine plays an important role by performing intelligence operations.
In April 2018, the Dutch Government approved a multi-year investment program for the Royal Netherlands Navy and allocated funds for the 2018–2030 period. The Dutch Defence Materiel Administration (DMO) is in charge of the procurement of these new ships.
The Snellius class are two hydrographic survey vessel (HOV) ships in service with the hydrographic branch of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The ships were built by the Damen Group, with the hull being built in Romania by Damen Shipyards Galați and the fitting out in the Netherlands by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding.
The Cerberus class are four diving support vessels in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy. Built by Scheepswerf Visser at Den Helder, their mission is to help the explosive ordnance disposal unit with bomb disposal and to serve as a platform to train new navy divers.
The (NL)LCVP, which stands for (Netherlands) Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel, is a Dutch LCVP. The Royal Netherlands Navy currently operates twelve LCVP type Mk.V(C) as well as five LCUs for the Marine Corps.
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Royal Netherlands Navy, Netherlands Marine Corps 