To the detriment in particular of the tandem formed by the Swedish Saab and the Dutch Damen, the Netherlands announced on Friday March 15 that it had chosen the French Naval Group for the construction of four submarines. A project worth several billion euros, the amount of which The Hague has not specified. “After a careful quotation process, Naval Group will build the new submarines”declared Friday the Secretary of State for Defense, Christophe van der Maat, present in Helder, in the north of the country, where the largest naval base of the Dutch navy is located.
“They succeeded in offering a balanced, versatile and realistic offer. Dutch industry also has an important role to play, an important condition in the award process”he added. “Equipped with the latest systems and technologies, the new submarines are a worthy successor to the Walrus class”also estimated in a press release the Dutch Ministry of Defense, while the responsible minister Kajsa Ollogren said on that “The new submarines are an important step in strengthening our security.”
The competition pitted the French public group Naval Group, allied with the Dutch Royal IHC, the German thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and the Swedish Saab which has formed an alliance with the Dutch shipbuilder Damen.
This long process, which began in 2015, aims to replace the four Walrus-class submarines launched in the early 1990s, the first of which was withdrawn from service last fall so that its parts could be used to maintain the others. The first two submarines must enter service within ten years of signing the contract, according to the Ministry of Defense.
Turmoil in the Dutch Parliament
The Hague’s announcement formalizes information that was already circulating in the press in recent days. The possible selection of the French public group had caused a stir within the Dutch Parliament which will be called upon to ratify the government’s choice before any contract signing.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s office has been handling current affairs since the November elections which saw the victory of Islamophobic far-right leader Geert Wilders. But in the highly fragmented Dutch political system, where no party is strong enough to govern alone, Mr. Wilders had to give up becoming prime minister in favor of a partially technocratic government that has yet to be formed.
In a debate in the lower house on Wednesday evening, MP Chris Stoffer of the reformed SGP party – with a strong base in Zeeland, where Damen is based – called for “not let this government decide, but a new government that chooses in the interest of the Netherlands”.
But Dutch industry does indeed have a role to play, not only in the construction of new submarines, but also in maintenance, the Secretary of State defended on Friday. “This decision is therefore not only good for the navy and our security interests, but certainly also for Dutch companies and the development of our know-how”he explained.
Industrial cooperation
The Hague did not mention the price of the contract but according to local media it could be between 4 and 6 billion euros. This will also include an industrial cooperation agreement (ICA), aimed at “to strengthen the Dutch defense technological and industrial base” according to the ministry, even if the assembly of the submarines will be carried out in the shipyard of the selected company.
Naval Group’s victory marks the first export success of its Barracuda submarine, twelve examples of which had been sold to Australia before Canberra abruptly canceled the contract at the end of 2021 in favor of the Aukus partnership. with London and Washington, generating what was called the “submarine” diplomatic crisis.
A first Barracuda, the Suffren, equips the French navy in a nuclear-powered version. The model intended for the Netherlands is with conventional diesel-electric propulsion and a little smaller, 3,000 tonnes compared to 4,500 tonnes. The Dutch Navy has expressed its need for long-range ocean-going submarines to be able to operate far from its bases, which is what the Barracuda was designed for.