The Netherlands recently announced that it has chosen the French company Naval Group to manufacture its future submarines.

The announcement was made at an official ceremony at Naval Base Den Helder.

Het Franse @navalgroup bouwt de nieuwe onderzeeboten voor Defensie. Dat is het voorlopige gunningsbesluit na een zorgvuldig offertetraject. Zo maakte @DefensieStas dat bekend. De namen zijn Zijner Majesteits Orka, Zwaardvis, Barracuda en Tijgerhaai.https://t.co/Uc3cWjhue1 pic.twitter.com/cCHakRwDHb

— Koninklijke Marine (@kon_marine) March 15, 2024

After a careful bidding process, Naval Group will build the new submarines for the Dutch Navy by making a balanced, flexible and realistic bid with significant participation from the Dutch industry, covering the most important condition of the award process, the country’s Deputy Minister of Defence, Christophe van der Maat, stated.

Naval Group, SAAB and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems entered the tender in December 2019 to procure four submarines to replace the Netherlands’ Royal Navy’s four aging Walrus-class submarines.

Na een zorgvuldig offertetraject gaat Naval Group de nieuwe onderzeeboten voor @Defensie bouwen. Zij zijn erin geslaagd een gebalanceerd, veelzijdig en realistisch bod te doen. Ook is een stevige rol weggelegd voor de Nederlandse industrie, een belangrijke eis bij de gunning. pic.twitter.com/IjafFUZ7ed

— Christophe van der Maat (@DefensieStas) March 15, 2024

Naval Group offered a conventional variant of the Barracuda class, known as the “Blacksword”. SAAB, in collaboration with Damen, proposed the C718, an enlarged derivative of the A26 submarine, which was being built for the Royal Swedish Navy. ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems has tendered an advanced variant of the 212CD class of submarines, already ordered by Germany and Norway.

Also read: SAAB – Damen | Agreement to export advanced Expeditionary C-71 submarines

The names of the four new “Orca”-class submarines will be as follows:

• Orka
• Zwaardvis
• Barracuda
• Tijgerhaai

According to a press release by the Dutch Ministry of Defence, the 4 new submarines are a significant improvement over the Walrus-class submarines. The design is more modern, while they feature the capability to launch cruise missiles, an element that significantly increases the firing power of the fleet. With the latest sensors and communication systems, the new class is even better equipped than its predecessors in terms of collecting, analyzing and sharing intelligence.

Further, the new submarines will be among the largest designed for long-term operations away from home base, the Dutch Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Also read: Australia | AUKUS Agreement – Revokes 34 billion euro French submarine contract

The announcement emphasizes that the contract is “provisional”. In particular, after the offer has been evaluated in the House of Representatives, the delivery contract will be signed. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will also be signed between the Dutch government and France, which will include, inter alia, agreements on usage rights, information security and know-how exchange.

A necessary condition for the signing of the agreement are the agreements signed between Naval Group and the Dutch companies that will participate in the project.

The Dutch Ministry of Defence has agreed with Naval Group that the first 2 new submarines will be delivered within 10 years of the signing of the delivery contract.

It is recalled that the Netherlands recently announced that it will replace almost its entire Naval fleet within the next 15 years, a project that will cost several billion euros which the Dutch defence industry will mainly benefit from. A big part of the plan is to replace the four anti-aircraft frigates.

Also read: SAAB | New order from Sweden for A-26 submarines