Design delays impact frigate deliveries for the Netherlands, Belgium

The need to undertake additional design activity has set back delivery of the Netherlands' and Belgium's first ASW frigate until at least 2033. (Damen)

Design delays mean deliveries of new Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigates (ASWFs) for the navies of The Netherlands and Belgium will start three years later than previously planned, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed.

Acknowledging the extent of the slippage in its latest annual Defence Project Overview (Defensie Projectenoverzicht: DPO), published on 20 May 2026, the MoD said that the first of class would not be handed over until 2033 because of the need to provide additional growth margin to the ship design. The delivery delays will have knock-on effects on both the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) and the Belgian Navy.

The Netherlands MoD – through its Materiel and IT Command (Commando Materieel en IT - COMMIT) – in June 2023 awarded Damen Shipyards Group a contract for the design, construction and delivery of four new ASWFs – two for the RNLN and two for the Belgian Navy – to replace each service's ageing M-class multipurpose frigates. A separate contract was awarded by COMMIT to Thales Nederland for the above water warfare system fire-control cluster and sensor suite.

A Netherlands MoD white paper published on 5 September 2024 said the RNLN's ASWF fleet would be expanded; later Dutch defence reporting said this would mean four ships for the Netherlands rather than two. Belgium's Strategic Vision 2025 Extended says Belgium plans to acquire a third ASWF, which would bring the combined total to seven.