On December 12, 2022, the Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace AS division of the Norwegian Kongsberg Group signed a contract with the Dutch Ministry of Defense for the supply of NSM (Naval Strike Missile) anti-ship missiles for armament during the modernization of four Dutch LCF-type frigates (De Zeven Provincien type). The contract parameters are not disclosed.
Kongsberg NSM (Naval Strike Missile) Anti-ship Missile (c) Kongsberg NSM missiles are being purchased to replace the US Harpoon anti-ship missiles in service with LCF-type frigates of the Netherlands Navy.
The Dutch Navy was at one time one of the first customers of the Harpoon missile defense system, receiving 300 missiles in the earliest version of RGM-84A Block 1A in 1978-1983, and then in 1985-2000 several batches of 87 more missiles in various versions of Block 1 and 60 UGM-84 boat missiles. According to a press release from the Dutch Ministry of Defense, the delivery of NSM missiles should begin in 2025.
Four large air defense and Control frigates (Luchtverdedigings- en Commandofregatten - LCF) of the De Zeven Provincien type of national construction with a total displacement of 6050 tons were introduced into the Dutch Navy in 2002-2005. Since 2018, they have been undergoing a phased modernization with almost complete replacement of weapons and electronic means, and among other things, the Harpoon PKR currently installed on them will be replaced with the purchased NSM. Apparently, in the future, NSM missiles in the Dutch navy will also receive two frigates planned for construction by 2030 of the Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigate (ASWF) program with Belgium, designed to replace two M-type frigates (two ships are also planned for Belgium).
The Netherlands became the 11th customer of the NSM rocket. The NSM missile has been in service with the Norwegian Navy since 2012, and has now also been acquired by the US Navy (to equip LCS ships) and Poland (as part of coastal missile systems) and ordered or selected for procurement also by Germany, Romania, Malaysia, Canada, Australia, Spain and, at the end of November 2022, Great Britain .
Frigate F 802 De Zeven Provinciën type LCF of the Netherlands Navy (c) kees tornImage of a promising frigate of the Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigate (ASWF) program
The Netherlands Navy. The ship is pictured with NSM (c) Thales missile launchers
