Dutch Defence reaches agreement with Damen and Thales for ASW frigates
The Dutch Ministry of Defence has reached an agreement with Damen and Thales Netherlands for four new Anti Submarine Warfare frigates and revealed what the new ships will be capable of. Two will be built for the Royal Netherlands Navy, two for the Belgian Navy. The first will enter service in 2029.
The vessels will be bigger than originally planned resulting in a price tag of EUR 1.9 billion for the two Dutch frigates alone.
Damen Shipyards is responsible for the platform, while Thales will supply the radar and fire control system.
In total, the Dutch Ministry of Defence expects to award about forty contracts for the contracts. These include things like the 76mm gun and other weapon systems for countering surface targets and air targets, sonar equipment, communications equipment, and electronic warfare equipment. Some of these contracts have now also been agreed. The knowledge institutes TNO and MARIN will also play an important role in this project.
Defence invoked Article 346 TFEU (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) for these contracts. Recourse to this article allows the Netherlands to waive a European tender in public procurement for the sake of national security interests.
Source: SWZ Maritime