History
Plans were announced by Dutch Minister of Defence, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, in November 2014 to replace the Walrus-class submarines with four new submarines in 2025. [2] By 2017, there was still no political agreement on the quantity or type of new submarines to be ordered; nor the tasks they were expected to perform. However, it seems certain that they will be replaced, since the alleged Russian threat was regarded as an incentive to invest in a new class. The Minister of Defence, however, delayed the replacement by two years, until 2027. Roughly, there are two groups in the Dutch parliament – one in favor of replacing the Walrus class by an equally capable class of large, expeditionary, diesel-electric submarine, and the other in favor of choosing a cheaper solution of smaller diesel-electrics, similar to Swedish and German submarines. It is unknown where the new boats will be built; since the Dutch RDM shipyard (the only Dutch yard capable of building submarines) is no longer in operation. The Defensienota (Defense policy for the coming years) of March 2018 revealed that the Dutch government is still planning to replace the Walrus-class submarines, [3] with an allocated budget of more than 2.5 billion euros for the new submarines. Additional information on how to proceed with the replacement was expected at the end of 2018, when the Dutch Minister of Defence, Ank Bijleveld, was to send a so-called B-letter to the Dutch parliament. [3] Minister Bijleveld also underlined in an interview that the new submarines should have the same niche capabilities as the current Walrus-class submarines: the ability to operate and gather intelligence in both shallow water close to the coast and in deep water in the ocean. [4] In mid-2021 it was indicated that the revised plan was to take a decision on the replacement type in 2022 and to have the first vessel in service by 2028, with the first two boats to be in service by 2031. [5] However, by October 2021 it was reported that this timeline was no longer feasible. Instead, the Dutch Ministry of Defence signalled that the envisaged dates would have to be "substantially adjusted", likely impacting the originally proposed in-service dates for the first submarines. [6] In April 2022 it was announced that the revised schedule for construction of the new replacement boats would likely see the first two vessels entering service in the 2034 to 2037 timeframe. [7]
On 16 November 2022 the next phase in the program was started when DMO delivered the request for quotation (RfQ) to the three remaining yards. It is expected that the proposals will come in during the summer of 2023 with a final decision being made by the navy in late 2023 or early 2024. [8]
Contenders
The Ministry of Defence has shortlisted three bidders: [9] [10]
- Damen Group and Saab Group announced that they have partnered from 2015 to jointly develop, offer and build next-generation submarines that are able to replace the current Walrus-class submarines. [11] It was announced on 1 June 2018 that their design will be derived from the A26 submarine. [12] The proposed submarine is around 73 metres (239 ft 6 in) long with a beam of 8 metres (26 ft 3 in). Furthermore, the displacement will be around 2,900 tonnes (2,900 long tons ), with a complement of 34 to 42 people. The boat's armament includes six torpedo tubes and one multi-mission lock which can be used to deploy special forces. [12] On 28 July 2023 they submitted a submarine design for the Walrus class replacement program that is called C718. [13] The offer includes knowledge transfer so that the Royal Netherlands Navy can perform maintenance and upgrade the submarines during their lifespan by themselves. [14] [15]
- Naval Group announced that it is offering its newest submarine class, the Barracuda class, as replacement for the Walrus class. A version of the "Shortfin" diesel-electric variant Barracuda class was offered, rather than the nuclear variant used by the French Navy. [16]
Spain's Navantia's S-80 was not accepted as a contender following the B-letter in 2019. [18] In 2022 the Spanish Ministry of Defence sent a letter to the Dutch DMO for Navantia to be allowed to put in an offer following a RfQ sent to the remaining contenders, in which some of the requirements have changed. It is rumoured that the request was denied by DMO. [19]
Winning bid
On 15 March 2024 State Secretary for Defence Christophe van der Maat officially announced that Naval Group has been selected as the winning bid. [20] [21] [22] Prior to this announcement, the winner was already leaked to several media outlets, which caused political backlash for choosing a foreign yard over a Dutch one. [23] In April 2024, it was announced which ten Dutch companies and two knowledge institutions will be involved in the construction of the Orka class submarines. [24]
The names of the new submarines where also announced by van der Maat. The class will be known as the Orka class, with the subs named Orka (Orca), Zwaardvis (Swordfish), Barracuda (Barracuda) and Tijgerhaai (Tiger shark). The first two will be delivered within ten years after the contract has been signed. [20] [21] [22]
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 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.
The Suffren class is a class of nuclear attack submarines, designed by the French shipbuilder Naval Group for the French Navy. It is intended to replace the Rubis-class submarines. Construction began in 2007 and the first unit was commissioned on 6 November 2020. The lead boat of the class, Suffren, entered service on 3 June 2022.
The Zwaardvis-class submarine ("Swordfish") is a class of conventional attack submarines that were built to strengthen the Royal Netherlands Navy. The Dutch government opted for the choice to not replace the two Zwaardvis-class submarines with either more Walrus-class submarines, or submarines of a new design.
The Viking-class submarine was a planned class of submarines to be built by the Viking Submarine Corporation. Viking was a corporation jointly established by Kockums in Sweden, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace in Norway and Odense Steel Shipyard in Denmark. Finland was an observer of the Viking project, as an eventual future buyer of additional Viking submarines. The idea was to develop modern successor to the Swedish Gotland class, that would have cost about one third of the German Type 214. It was initially planned that the Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian navies would purchase two, four, and four Viking-class submarines each starting in 2005.
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.
The Blekinge-class submarine is the next generation of submarines developed by Kockums for the Swedish Navy, also known as the A26 type.
The S-80 Plus class is a Spanish class of four submarines being built by the state-owned Spanish company Navantia at its Cartagena shipyard for the Spanish Navy. In common with other contemporary submarines, they feature air-independent propulsion.
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.
HNLMS Mercuur (A900) is a submarine support ship of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The ship was built and designed specially to support the Dutch submarines. She entered service on 21 August 1987, and is the only surface vessel attached to the Dutch submarine 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.
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 Type 212CD class is a submarine class developed by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) for the Norwegian and German navies. The class is derived from the Type 212 submarine class, but will be significantly larger than the 212 class.
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 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.
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 Defence Gijs Tuinman that two ships will be procured from the Damen Group. Both ships should be in service by 2027.
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.
The Dutch Underwater Knowledge Centre (DUKC) is a working group and knowledge platform aimed at preserving submarine knowledge within the Dutch industry. It consists of several Dutch companies and knowledge institutes that have experience and knowledge in the field of underwater technology. During the life extension program of the Walrus class submarines DUKC played an important role.
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Royal Netherlands Navy