On September 30, 2024, at the Dutch naval base Den Helder, the Netherlands’ Secretary of Defense Gijs Tuinman signed a contract with the French shipbuilding consortium Naval Group for the construction of four large non-nuclear submarines of the French Barracuda design (designated in the Netherlands as the Orka type) for the Royal Netherlands Navy. The Naval Group in France will build the submarines. The contract details have not been disclosed.
Since 2014, the Dutch Ministry of Defense has initiated a competitive program to procure four large non-nuclear submarines to replace the four Dutch-built Walrus-class diesel-electric submarines from the early 1990s, with the decommissioning of the lead boat, Walrus, in October 2023. In 2019, the French Naval Group, in collaboration with the Dutch company Royal IHC, identified three potential contenders: the French Naval Group, offering a non-nuclear version of the Barracuda submarine, a consortium comprising Sweden’s Saab AB and the Dutch Damen Shipyards Group, offering the C718 submarine (an expanded version of the A26-class submarines currently under construction for the Swedish Navy), and Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), offering an enlarged version of the German-Norwegian 212CD-class submarine. The Dutch Ministry of Defense sent out an official request for proposals in November 2022 and presented the submissions in July 2023. On March 15, 2024, the Dutch Ministry of Defense announced the final selection of the French design.
The selected design is a variant of the non-nuclear submarine based on the French Barracuda-class nuclear submarine, previously known as the Barracuda Shortfin. The specifications of the Dutch variant have not been revealed, but it is believed to be the largest in size (82 meters in length) and displacement (over 3,300 tons) among the three contenders. It is expected that the submarines will not have air-independent propulsion but will use lithium-ion batteries. They will also be equipped with cruise missiles.
Since the closure of the Dutch shipyard Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij (RDM) in 1996, which had built submarines for the Dutch Navy, the Netherlands has lost its national submarine-building capability. Naval Group in France will build all four new submarines at its Cherbourg facility. Although Naval Group is partnering with the Dutch company Royal IHC, which specializes in building ships for offshore oil and gas operations and support vessels, Royal IHC will only serve as a subcontractor for construction and maintenance of the submarines. On September 10, 2024, Naval Group signed a 20-year Industrial Cooperation Agreement (ICA) with the Dutch Ministry of Economy, under which a group of Dutch companies led by Royal IHC will serve as industrial contractors for the construction and maintenance of the submarines. The total cost of building the four submarines is currently estimated at €5.6 billion, with approximately €1 billion allocated to the Dutch side’s work.
The Dutch Navy has designated the new submarines as the Orka class (“Killer Whale”) and given them the names Orka, Zwaardvis, Barracuda, and Tijgerhaai. The Dutch Navy has traditionally used the names Zwaardvis (“Swordfish”) and Tijgerhaai (“Tiger Shark”) for two Zwaardvis-class submarines built in the early 1970s, while Orka and Barracuda are new names for Dutch submarines.
The contract terms stipulate the delivery of the first two Orka-class submarines within 10 years of signing, with Dutch media citing 2034 and 2037 as the expected delivery dates. The Dutch Navy will have to extend the service life of the last two Walrus-class submarines until the late 2030s due to the delayed delivery of the remaining two submarines.
