Dutch Navy accelerates equipment construction
2024-07-17
According to foreign media reports, the Dutch Navy recently announced that it will equip two multi-functional support ships with American made "Standard-2" air defense missiles to enhance the fleet's air defense capabilities. According to reports, the Dutch Navy is accelerating the modernization of its weapons and equipment to build a new fleet capable of conducting high-intensity warfare within 20 years. At present, the Dutch Navy is facing the problem of outdated and outdated active equipment, and urgently needs to be updated and replaced. The Walrus class submarine served in the 1990s and has been in service for over 30 years now. Two Karel Dorman class frigates and one Rotterdam class landing ship have also exceeded their service life. The four seven provincial-level frigates that began to be commissioned in 2002 were exposed to have technical problems and greatly reduced combat capabilities. Meanwhile, the Dutch Army and Air Force are also facing a similar situation. In this context, the Dutch government has re emphasized national defense construction and begun to increase funding, planning to update existing weapons and equipment. In 2022, the Dutch government released the "2022 Defense White Paper: A Stronger Netherlands, a Safer Europe", aiming to improve the overall combat capability and logistical support level of the military. The white paper states that the Dutch government will spend an additional 5 billion euros (approximately 5.4 billion US dollars) annually on defense construction, aiming to meet NATO's requirement of 2% of GDP for defense spending by 2025. The newly added funds will mainly be invested in the Navy and Air Force. According to the plan, the Dutch Navy will invest 10.5 to 13 billion euros in new ship procurement projects, including the purchase of 4 conventional submarines from France, the development of 4 anti submarine frigates in cooperation with Belgium, the construction of 2 combat support ships, 6 amphibious transport ships, and 2 multifunctional support ships, as well as the development of unmanned combat boats, transport ships, anti mine ships, etc. Specifically, in terms of submarines, in order to replace the old Walrus class submarines, the Dutch Navy, after years of evaluation, selected the French Navy Group to build four conventional powered submarines for it in March this year. The new submarine is built on the basis of the Barracuda class submarine, with a displacement of about 4500 tons, using an AIP power system, and can carry Tomahawk cruise missiles. The first two are built in France and are expected to be delivered within 10 years; The last two ships were built in the Netherlands with technology provided by France. In terms of anti submarine vessels, the Netherlands and Belgium are rapidly advancing the project of a new generation of anti submarine frigates, with the first ship expected to enter service in 2029. This type of frigate has a full displacement of 6000 tons and is equipped with a new water combat system kit, including APAR-2 active phased array radar and "Sea Dominator" -400 radar. It is also equipped with American made MK-46 torpedoes and Norwegian "Navy Strike Missiles" and can carry one NH-90 helicopter. At the same time, in order to enhance its operational capabilities in dangerous waters, the Dutch Navy is developing supporting anti submarine unmanned boats for the ship. The unmanned boat has a displacement of 9.2 tons and a range of 96 hours. It is equipped with active sonar to expand the anti submarine search range. In terms of logistical support, the first ship of the new generation multifunctional support ship of the Dutch Navy will be delivered within this year. The ship has a full displacement of 22400 tons and is mainly used to provide fuel, ammunition, and cargo for other vessels. The first ship of the new amphibious transport ship is scheduled to enter service in 2032, and after all six ships enter service, they will replace two large landing ships and four ocean patrol boats currently in service. In addition to purchasing new types of ships, the Dutch Navy will continue to upgrade and transform its existing vessels. Currently, the Dutch Navy is upgrading its main warships - four seven provincial frigates - with a comprehensive update of radar and major weapon systems, equipping them with SMART-L MM/N extended long-range L-band radar, 127mm/64x caliber artillery, as well as the "Navy Strike Missile" and the American made RIM-116 "Ram" air defense missile system. To further enhance the ship's long-range strike and anti missile capabilities, the Dutch Navy has also decided to equip these vessels with American made Tomahawk 4 cruise missiles. The verification work will be carried out in the United States this autumn, and it is expected that the first seven provincial frigate equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles will resume service in 2027. At that time, the Dutch Navy will become the second country in Europe, after the UK, to introduce the Tomahawk cruise missile. Analysis suggests that the equipment upgrade plan of the Dutch Navy poses certain difficulties. On the one hand, in the Dutch defense construction plan, the modernization of the air force occupies an important position, and its multiple procurement projects will consume a large amount of funds, including the purchase of new armed drones, rocket artillery systems, and the addition of F-35 fighter jets, which will inevitably squeeze the development space of the navy. It remains to be seen whether the budget of the Dutch Navy can support the massive equipment upgrade plan. On the other hand, most of the current equipment in the Dutch Navy has exceeded its service life, and the new equipment will be installed after 2030. The long gap period will create new problems, and it is also unknown whether the new equipment can be delivered smoothly at that time. (New Society)
Edit：Xiong Dafei Responsible editor：Li Xiang
Source：People.cn
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