On June 5, 2023, the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands announced its decision to purchase 14 multi-purpose Airbus Helicopters H225M Caracal helicopters and NASAMS short- and medium-range anti- aircraft missile systems manufactured by a consortium of the Norwegian Kongsberg Group and the American Raytheon Corporation.
A short-range version of the Kongsberg Raytheon NASAMS anti-aircraft missile system planned for purchase for the Dutch Army on a tracked armored chassis Armored Combat Support Vehicle G5 (ACSV G5) of the German company Flensburger Fahrzeugbau GmbH (FFG) (c) Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands
The 14 purchased Airbus Helicopters H225M Caracal multipurpose helicopters are to replace the 12 helicopters currently in service with the 300th Squadron of the Helicopter Command of the Netherlands Air Force, essentially the same type of the previous modification of the Airbus Helicopters AS532U2 Cougar Mk 2. The delivery of Caracal helicopters is planned for 2028-2030, in connection with which work is currently underway to extend the life of Cougar Mk 2 helicopters accordingly. The Netherlands received 17 Cougar Mk 2 helicopters in 1996-1997.
It is reported that during the planned rearmament with H225M Caracal helicopters, the 300th Squadron at the Gilze-Rien airbase will be reassigned to the Dutch Special Operations Forces command.
As for the acquisition of NASAMS air defense systems, the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands announced that it decided to combine separate programs for the purchase of short-range and medium-range air defense systems into one, with the purchase of a single NASAMS system from one supplier (Kongsberg and Raytheon consortium).
In fact, however, the NASAMS SAM is planned to be purchased in two versions. The first is a standard variant with towed six-container launchers with AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-range anti-aircraft missiles. In 2026-2027, it should replace the NASAMS II air defense system kit, which has been in service with the 13th Air Defense Battery of the Netherlands Army since 2013. It is stated that the new version of the NASAMS complex planned for acquisition by the Netherlands should have a range increased to 50 km, which apparently means the introduction of AMRAAM-ER anti-aircraft missiles into its composition.
The second variant of the NASAMS air defense system planned for purchase is a self-propelled short-range military air defense system. It must use self-propelled launchers, which must be made on the basis of a tracked armored chassis Armored Combat Support Vehicle G5 (ACSV G5, they are also RMMS) manufactured by the German company Flensburger Fahrzeugbau GmbH (FFG). The self-propelled launchers will be equipped with their own radar for detecting aerial targets and two double-loading containers with anti-aircraft guided missiles with a range of up to 15 km - as can be seen, AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles will be used as missiles. The Netherlands will thus become the second customers of the FFG ACSV G5 armored chassis after Norway.
The delivery of NASAMS SAMs in this short-range version to the Dutch army should be started in 2028 and they should replace the Stinger self-propelled SAMs based on the Fennek wheeled combat reconnaissance vehicle currently used in the Netherlands as a means of air defense by the army.
Multi-purpose helicopter Airbus Helicopters H225M Caracal (c) Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands
