Dutch 2023 Frigate project

[Scott Kenny]

Yesterday on the NEDS 2025 tradeshow in Rotterdam a new Dutch missile was announced, the Dutch industry will build a tomahawk alternative in the coming 3 to 6 months. The missile will be a cheap alternative to the US made Tomahawk, 25% of the critical parts need to be 3d printed (even in the field during combat). It will have a range of at least 1000 km and a warhead of 100 kg (220 lbs). The launch platform(s) are not announced so far, i assume it will be a land based cruise missile.

https://www.defensie.nl/actueel/nie...-samenwerkingen-stimuleren-defensie-industrie

Uhm.

That's not a Tomahawk equivalent if the warhead is only 100kg.

Tomahawk warhead is at least 650lbs/300kg.

 

[MihoshiK]

Also, the delays of the ASWF program have probably raised some doubts about the Dutch ability to develop a first-rank AAW destroyer alone, on time and on budget.

Only by people who do not know what is going on.

Basically the Dutch MoD has decided to learn from current conflicts, and has changed the requirements for the ASWF. So there's redesigns going on, and the ships will be bigger. Good chance that there will be more VLS too.

So yeah, the ASWF is late. Because it is being redesigned on the wishes of the primary customer.
If the Belgians don't like that, then it sucks to be them. Maybe they should get their defense budget in order, then they wouldn't have to stick to fixed budget contracts.

 

[kqcke for you]

Only by people who do not know what is going on.

Basically the Dutch MoD has decided to learn from current conflicts, and has changed the requirements for the ASWF. So there's redesigns going on, and the ships will be bigger. Good chance that there will be more VLS too.

So yeah, the ASWF is late. Because it is being redesigned on the wishes of the primary customer.
If the Belgians don't like that, then it sucks to be them. Maybe they should get their defense budget in order, then they wouldn't have to stick to fixed budget contracts.

ASWF was already late without the redesign if i remember it correctly. So its Just more delayed

 

[Titus K]

https://www.tweedekamer.nl/kamerstukken/brieven_regering/detail?id=2026Z19242&did=2026D44507

In the 2026 Defence Projects Overview (DPO), the Ministry of Defence reported that the ASWF project is facing a delay of approximately three years. This delay is due to a longer design phase resulting from the technical complexity of the design. As the design was further developed, it became apparent that the technical implementation of the requirements could not be accommodated within the original ship design without resulting in an insufficiently stable vessel. It was therefore necessary to modify the design in order to deliver a stable ship that meets the specified operational requirements. These requirements include, among other things, maintaining sufficient flexibility in terms of space and weight to allow for the integration of future systems. This flexibility is important to enable the ships to be adapted throughout their service life to changing operational and technological developments. As a result, the delivery date of the first ASW frigate has been pushed back from 2030 to 2033.

Since the technical briefing to your House, official-level consultations with Belgium have continued. These consultations take place, among other fora, within the bilateral Joint Steering Committee (JSC), in which the Netherlands and Belgium periodically discuss developments within the project. The JSC most recently met on 1 September. These official-level consultations have covered the progress of the project, the current schedule, and cooperation within the project. The importance of our maritime cooperation was also discussed. The Netherlands will remain in contact with Belgium on this matter in the coming period and will work jointly on further developing the next steps within the ASWF project.

The Ministry of Defence is closely monitoring the German government's decision to terminate the F126 project and the potential consequences thereof for the ASWF project. The possible impact on ongoing and future procurement programmes is being examined in greater detail. Any capacity that may become available could potentially be used for ASWF or other Defence projects. Where relevant, the Ministry of Defence will take this development into account in further decision-making on the ASWF project.

In addition to the bilateral consultations, work on the implementation of the project is continuing jointly at project level. The detailed engineering phase will start in September. Construction of the mast for the first frigate began at the end of June 2026. I intend, in close consultation with my Belgian counterpart, to provide your House with further information in the fourth quarter of this year regarding decision-making on this project. The answers to the questions submitted by MP Van Lanschot will also be included at that time.