Damen will design and partially build in Romania the 4 new anti-submarine frigates for the Netherlands and Belgium

The Damen shipyard in Galati will design and partially build in Romania four new anti-submarine frigates for the navies of the Netherlands and Belgium, according to a contract signed with the Dutch Ministry of Defense and Thales. The value of the entire program for the four ships is almost 4 billion euros.

The Dutch Ministry of Defence, Damen and Thales signed the contract for the design, construction and delivery of four anti-submarine warfare (ASW) frigates; two for the Netherlands and two for Belgium, the Damen company announces in a statement.

The ASW frigates are the replacements for the current Karel Doorman class multipurpose frigates. They can be used for several tasks, but the focus will be on anti-submarine warfare. The ships will have hybrid diesel-electric propulsion and will be designed to sail as quietly as possible to avoid detection by submarines as much as possible. On board will be a comprehensive suite of sensors to detect submarines, according to the company.

Dutch Secretary of State Christophe van der Maat: “The procurement of ASW frigates takes place in the way I prefer: through intensive cooperation between countries, armed forces and industry. Over time, the result will be an innovative and powerful weapon system. This will be to our benefit, as direct users, but also to Europe and NATO.”

The new frigates will be 145 meters long, with a maximum beam of 18 meters and a draft of 5.5 meters at a displacement of 6,400 tons. On board, there will be room for a crew of 117 people and capacity for additional personnel to sail with them.

Among other things, the ASW frigates will be equipped with an Under Water Warfare Suite (UWWS), an Above Water Warfare System (AWWS) and underwater decoys. The ships will be armed with a 76mm cannon, MK54 torpedoes, Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) and Naval Strike Missile (NSM) missiles.

The frigate can also accommodate other weapons, such as more powerful missiles and high-powered laser weapons. There are also boats and unmanned aircraft on board for use on/under water as well as aerial.