DMO and Thales to develop M-frigate Above Water Warfare System

The Netherlands Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) and Thales announced in a 28 February press release that they are developing the Above Water Warfare System (AWWS) for Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) and Belgian navy M-frigates. Thales Nederland CEO Gerben Edelijn said the AWWS has been in development since 2018.

The primary role of the next generation M-frigates, which will enter service starting in 2025, will be anti-submarine warfare, but they must be able to independently defend themselves as well as nearby ships against air and surface threats that are growing exponentially, so they will be equipped with the AWWS fire control system, according to the DMO-Thales press release. Vice Admiral Arie Jan de Waard, director of the DMO, said missiles now fly three times faster than the speed of sound, increasing to five times faster in 2020. In addition to hypersonic threats travelling at the speed of 2,500 m/sec, Edelijn mentioned precision-guided munitions, ballistic missiles, cyber, and swarms among above-water warfare threats.

De Waard said the first M-frigate and its AWWS, for the RNLN, should be ready by 2025, which Edelijn described as a “challenging timeline”. De Waard told Thales employees on 28 February, “The ship has to be in Den Helder in 2025,” referring to the Dutch M-frigate base on the North Sea. This will be followed by the two Belgian M-frigates in 2028–29 and the second Dutch one in 2026–27.