Multifunctional Support Ship (MSS), also known as the MSS (formerly TRIFIC & MICAN), was announced on 23 November 2022 by Captain (E)Paul Flos, head of maritime systems at DMO. On 24 September 2024 an announcement was made by State Secretary for DefenceGijs Tuinman that two ships will be procured from the Damen Group.[6] Both ships should be in service by 2027.[4][7]
On 23 November 2022 it was revealed that the navy is investigating the possibility of purchasing four commercially availableoffshore supply type vessels and use these ships as missile carriers.[citation needed] This program, when first announced, was known as The Rapidly Increased Firepower Capability (TRIFIC) and involves ships that would operate with a very small crew.[8][9] The TRIFIC-vessels can carry up to six container units with eight or more vertical launch cells (depending on missile size) in each container. One or more of these ships would accompany another vessel like a frigate or an OPV and use the guiding systems and radars of these ships to attack targets.[8]
In December 2023 the revised TRIFIC concept was announced as MICAN. It was also revealed that instead of four ships, two are initially planned.[10]
On 24 September 2024 State Secretary for Defence Gijs Tuinman gave an update on the MICAN-program, which was now named the Multifunctional Support Ship (MSS). He also announced the procurement for two ships.[4][7]
The first stage of the TRIFIC-program was to develop a ship with a low crew. The ship would be around 60m (200ft) to 70m (230ft) and will be based on a commercially available offshore supply vessel. Crew was required on these ships to keep a man-in-the-loop to actually fire the missiles.[8]
Stage 2
In stage two it was planned for the ships to sail themselves, with a minimal crew to keep a man-in-the-loop.[8]
Stage 3
In stage three the ships would be fully autonomous accompanying the mother ships.[8]
Armament
Missiles
DMO has spoken to several countries, including Israel, America and France to supply an array of missiles in the short term. The type of missiles is not limited to Surface-to-air or cruise missiles. Also the possibility to equip the ships with loitering munition is being investigated.[8][citation needed]
The Modular Integrated Capability for ACDF and North Sea (MICAN) concept was announced in December 2023 as a revised plan from the original TRIFIC concept. The plan still involves buying COTS offshore supply vessels, but instead of four, two ships are planned. Also the mission of the concept has changed, from solely being used as a missile carrier, to being able to carry sensors and systems to investigate (potential) threats on the North Sea.[10][11][12] This task was added in response to a Russian spy ship, the Admiral Vladimirsky, that was seen in the DutchEEZ on multiple occasions.[13][14] The new mission is to moniter such vessels and see what they are up to below the surface.[10][15]
On 24 September 2024 State Secretary for Defence Gijs Tuinman gave an update on the MICAN-program, which was now named the Multifunctional Support Ship (MSS). He also announced the procurement for the first two ships.[16] With insiders telling Marineschepen.nl that more ships are being considered if the program is a success.[4][7] The two ships will be a militarized version of a fast crew supplier from Damen, most likely the Fast Crew Supplier 5009 (FCS 5009).[citation needed]
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 Karel Doorman-class frigates are a series of eight multi-purpose vessels built for the Royal Netherlands Navy. Its namesake is Karel Doorman, a Dutch naval officer whose ship was struck by a Japanese torpedo in the Battle of the Java Sea in 1942, and went down with his ship as a result.
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 Tromp (F803) is the second De Zeven Provinciën-class frigate of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The ship was laid down in 1999, launched in 2001, and commissioned in 2003. The frigate is named after Dutch naval heroes Maarten Tromp (1598–1653) and Cornelis Tromp (1629–1691).
The Holland-class ocean-going patrol vessels are a class of four ocean-going patrol vessels constructed for the Royal Netherlands Navy. They are designed to fulfill patrol and intervention tasks against lightly armed opponents, such as pirates and smugglers, but have much higher level electronic and radar surveillance capabilities which are used for military stabilization and security roles, short of outright war. Without sonar or long range weapons, they utilize the surveillance capabilities of the Thales integrated mast, which integrates communication systems and two four-faced phased arrays for air and surface search.
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.
The Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigate (ASWF) is a project of the Royal Netherlands Navy and Belgian Navy to replace the existing Multipurpose- or M-frigates. The project shows similarities to the British Global Combat Ship but development is fully separate.
Konarak is a Hendijan-class support vessel of the Iranian Navy. It was built in the Netherlands and has been in service since 1988. Originally intended as a support and logistics ship, Konarak was overhauled in 2018, and was armed with anti-ship missiles. The vessel was struck by a missile fired from the Iranian frigate Jamaran in a friendly fire incident during training on 10 May 2020, killing 19 sailors.
F126 or Niedersachsen-class frigate is a planned German frigate class intended to replace the F123 Brandenburg-class frigates in the German Navy. The ships are to be the largest surface warships to join the German Navy since World War II. The first ship, Niedersachsen, is planned to be commissioned in 2028, with Saarland, Bremen, and Thüringen to follow. On 8 April 2024, Germany exercised their option and purchased an additional two frigates. The contract for two additional F126 frigates was signed on 19 June 2024.
In April 2018, the Dutch Government approved a multi-year investment program for the Dutch 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.
HNLMS Den Helder is a new replenishment oiler under construction for the Royal Netherlands Navy. Also known as the Combat Support Ship (CSS), Den Helder is planned to fill the gap of replenishment at sea that was left after HNLMS Amsterdam was sold to Peru in 2014.
The Netherlands and Belgium are doing a joint procurement for the replacements of the Tripartite-class/Alkmaar-class minehunters. Each of the two countries is procuring six new mine countermeasure (MCM) vessels, which makes for a total of 12 MCM ships. The new MCM ships, developed by Naval Group, will include a range of unmanned systems including unmanned surface, aerial and underwater vehicles alongside towed sonars and mine identification and neutralization ROVs.
The Rotterdam class are two landing platform dock (LPD) ships in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy. Built by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding at Vlissingen, their mission is to carry out amphibious warfare by transporting the bulk of the Korps Mariniers. Each ship has both a large helicopter flight deck and a well deck for large landing craft, as well as space for up to 33 main battle tanks.
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 Linge class are a series of tugboats used by the Royal Netherlands Navy to dock their larger ships at the Nieuwe Haven Naval Base.
The Noordzee class are a class of tugboats used by the Royal Netherlands Navy to dock their larger ships at the Nieuwe Haven Naval Base.
The West Indies Guard Ship (WIGS) is a ship of the Royal Netherlands Navy that rotates about every four to six months in support of the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard. It can be a frigate but more commonly one of the navy's Holland-class offshore patrol vessels is deployed to the region. This vessel usually carries an NHIndustries NH90 helicopter for search and rescue tasks and pursuit of suspect vessels.
The Auxiliary ship replacement program is set to replace ten auxiliary ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy from various classes by eight new ships which will be built by a Dutch shipyard.
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Royal Netherlands Navy 
