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Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigate (Koninklijke Marine)

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(Redirected from Future Surface Combatant (Koninklijke Marine)) Ship design project of the Royal Netherlands Navy and Belgian Navy
Artist impression of the ASWF
Class overview
NameAnti-Submarine Warfare Frigate
Builders
Operators
Preceded byKarel Doorman-class frigate
Cost€4 billion for 4 ships (as of April 2023)
Built2020–2030s
Planned
  • Dutch Navy: 4
  • Belgian Navy: 2
Completed0
General characteristics
Displacement6.650 tons
Length145 m (475 ft 9 in)
Beam18 m (59 ft 1 in)
Draught5.5 m (18 ft 1 in)
Installed power32 MW (43,000 hp)
Propulsion
  • CODLAD:
    • 2 × MAN Energy Solutions 20V28/33D STC propulsion engines
    • 4 × MAN Energy Solutions 16V175D-MEV variable-speed naval GenSets
    • 2 × RENK gearbox system (subcontractor: Schelde Gears B.V.)
    • ABB Onboard DC Grid™ integrated power and distribution system
  • Propellers:
    • Kongsberg Maritime controllable pitch propellers
Complement117 (plus space for additional 40)
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Systems
    • TNO UWWS (Under Water Warfare System)
    • Thales AWWS (Above Water Warfare System) fire control cluster
  • Sonars: (not yet selected)
    • Bow sonar
    • Towed array sonar
    • mine / obstacle avoidance
  • Radars:
    • Thales APAR block 2.0, X-band multifunctional radar
    • Thales SM400 block 2, (E-band - F band (NATO)) multifunctional radar
    • Thales PHAROS multi-target tracking radar
    • Thales Scout Mk3 low-detectability naval surveillance radar
    • Terma SCANTER 6002 naval surveillance radars
  • Electro-optical sensors:
    • Thales Mirador Mk2 (fire control)
    • Thales Gatekeeper Mk2 (observation)
  • Communications:
  • Navigation:
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • Systems to be installed:
    • Soft-kill torpedo countermeasures system
  • Future systems planned:
    • Hard-kill anti-torpedo torpedo system
Armament
Aircraft carried

The Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigate (ASWF) is a project of the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN, Dutch: Koninklijke Marine) and Belgian Navy to replace the existing Multipurpose- or M-frigates. The project shows similarities to the British Global Combat Ship (also formerly named FSC program) but development is fully separate.

Context

The current M-frigates, originally all built in the Netherlands but apart from two units sold to Belgium, Portugal, and Chile are reaching their planned retirement age around 2020. However, due to extensive budget cuts over the past decades and other large materiel programs such as the acquisition of the F-35 for the Royal Netherlands Air Force, the Dutch Ministry of Defense currently does not have enough funds available to start building the ships. Therefore, lifespan of the current vessels has been extended until 2025. Keeping the ships any longer will cause problems with NATO and related tasks because the ships weapons suite is outdated and not up to current standards. For example: the M-frigates only carry 16 surface-to-air missiles in the form of the outdated NATO Sea Sparrow (RIM-7). Onboard modern ships the Evolved Sea Sparrow (Block 2 in development) does the job, but those do not fit in the also outdated Mk48 VLS cells on board the M-frigates. Apart from these, the M-frigates only have a single Goalkeeper system for CIWS. Offensive capabilities are limited to obsolete RGM-84 Harpoon missiles. The 76mm cannon is not fit for modern semi-guided munitions like DART, Davide/STRALES, or VULCANO.

Additionally; the RNLN searched for European partners to build the ships with and cut costs, and in January 2017 reached an agreement with the Belgian Marine Component to build a total of four ships together. This number could be adjusted later on during next phases of the acquisition process. With a total of four and two for the RNLN the current two M-frigates are to be replaced by an equal number. There are concerns about whether that number is enough to meet current and near future challenges, since it often happens the RNLN has no ships available to only fulfill the most basic of its duties (like supporting foreign navy ships along the Dutch coast). The costs for the 4 ships are currently estimated at 1.50-2.50 billion euro's for the two Dutch frigates and 1 billion euro's for the two Belgian frigates. Originally it had been hoped that the first frigate would be delivered to the Royal Netherlands Navy in 2024, while the first frigate for the Belgian Navy was to be delivered in 2027. However, as of 2020, the in-service date for the two Dutch frigates had slipped to 2028-29 with the Belgian frigates following immediately thereafter. In March 2023, the Dutch Ministry of Defense announced that it expected to deploy the first frigate in 2029, with Belgium deploying their first in 2030. The other two remaining frigates would be deployed in the following years.

A final agreement for the four ships was signed on 22 June 2023 by Dutch Minister of Defence Kajsa Ollongren and her Belgian counterpart Ludivine Dedonder.

On 5 September 2024, the Dutch Ministry of Defense released the 2024 Defense Memorandum which sees the Royal Netherlands Navy receiving 2 additional frigates, bringing the total order to 4 frigates for the Dutch navy and 6 in total.

Design

Armament

The ASWF frigates are equipped with a 76mm Sovraponte as primary naval gun. This naval gun is capable of firing DART munition. Besides the Sovraponte gun, each frigate will also be equipped with two Bofors 40 Mk4 as secondary naval guns. When it comes to missiles, the frigates will be armed with a RIM-116 RAM. Furthermore, the ships will be equipped with two 4 canister NSM launchers and two 8-cell Mk 41 strike-length VLS that are capable of launching a total of 64 ESSM Block 2 missiles in a quad-pack configuration. In addition, the ASWF is armed with a torpedo system that is capable of launching the Mk 54 torpedo. There is also room for future growth, such as potentially arming the frigates with anti-torpedo torpedoes and laser weapons.

Unmanned systems

In April 2024 it was reported that the Dutch Ministry of Defence together with Dutch Naval Design (DND) will develop an unmanned surface vessel (USV) that will be deployed from the ASWFs. The USV will be around 12 meters long and focus on Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW). It is expected to have a active dipping sonar and a minimum endurance of at least 96 hours. The vessel will be carried in the mission bay of the ASWF and be launched and recovered via a cradle-type system.

Construction

The hulls will be partially manufactured in Romania, at Damen's shipyard in Galati. It will be fitted with its system at the Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding facility.

List of ships

Pennant no. Name Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Status Notes
 Royal Netherlands Navy (2 ordered + 2 planned)
TBA TBA Damen Shipyards Galați (Hull)
Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (Fitting out) 		2025 (planned) - September 2029 (planned) Ordered
TBA TBA - - April 2031 (planned) Ordered
TBA TBA - - - Planned
TBA TBA - - - Planned
 Belgian Navy (2 ordered)
TBA TBA Damen Shipyards Galați (Hull)
Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (Fitting out) 		2025 (planned) - August 2030 (planned) Ordered
TBA TBA - - 2032 (planned) Ordered

Export

Norway

The ASWF was one of the eleven competitors in the Norwegian future frigate program. This program would determine which frigate design would be used to replace the Fridtjof Nansen class. In November 2024 the ASWF was not selected when the competition was narrowed to four competitors.

See also

References

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  2. "Anti-Submarine Warfare Fregatten (ASWF) | België en Nederland". Marineschepen.nl (in Dutch). 10 September 2024.
  3. Rudy Ruitenberg (5 November 2024). "Europeans start work on next-generation combat ship for the 2040s". Defense News.
  4. ^ "MAN Energy Solutions to supply main engines and generator sets for ASW Frigates". Defence Industry Europe. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  5. Hill, John (5 April 2024). "RENK will provide gearbox systems to Dutch and Belgian ASW frigates". Naval Technology. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  6. "ABB wins order with Damen Naval to supply integrated power and distribution system for ASW frigates". ABB. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  7. "Kongsberg Maritime secures contract to supply propeller systems to Damen Naval for four Anti-Submarine Warfare frigates". Kongsberg. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  8. Evert Brouwer (2 July 2020). "Varen in de toekomst". Materieelgezien (in Dutch). Defensie.nl.
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  18. ^ Fiorenza, Nicholas (29 May 2018). "Belgium approves M-frigate replacement". www.janes.com. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  19. Kuijpers, Dieuwertje (5 November 2016). "Strategische armoede III: de Nederlandse marine is een zinkend schip" (in Dutch). Follow the Money. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  20. Karremann, "Marine wil van twee naar één soort fregat".
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  31. ^ Jaime Karremann (1 November 2024). "Trendbreuk: nieuwe fregatten krijgen Bofors-kanons". Marineschepen.nl (in Dutch).
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Bibliography

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