The Dutch Ministry of Defence will purchase twenty new landing craft for the Royal Netherlands Navy. Twelve Littoral Assault Craft will be bought “off the shelf “, for the other eight and larger Littoral Craft Mobility industry will be brought in.
The navy will have the new landing craft at its disposal from 2025. The current twelve so-called landing craft vehicle personnel vessels (LCVPs) are nearing the end of their service life in 2024. They will be replaced by twelve craft for military personnel and eight for equipment and associated personnel, the LCM.
State Secretary of Defence Christophe van der Maat reported this to the House of Representatives on 22 March.
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Changing amphibious operations
Marines use the LCVPs when landing from large ships during amphibious operations. The way they do this is changing. This is because marine soldiers must increasingly take armed opposition into account, including at sea. As a result, the large ships will stay at a greater distance from the coast.
Compared to the current ones, the new vessels must be faster, cover longer distances and be deployable in rough seas. They should also offer better protection in bad weather and reduce the physical strain on those on board in rough seas. The new vessels’ engines take into account the latest emission requirements.
Availability
The twelve smaller Littoral Assault Craft (LAC) military vessels will be available “off the shelf”. They will then only be modified so that they can be hoisted aboard the large naval vessels. The first LACs will be available from 2025.
The eight larger vessels for equipment and personnel, Littoral Craft Mobility (LCM), are not available on the market. Defence wants to collaborate with industry for these. As a result, these vessels are expected to become available to the navy in 2028-2029.
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Twenty units
There are several reasons for increasing the number of landing craft from twelve to twenty, including the ongoing replacement of the fast raiding interception and special forces craft (FRISC). These are the Navy’s fast interceptor boats. These vessels are less suitable for amphibious operations. Defence is therefore not replacing all FRISC. Instead, the Ministry is buying more landing craft. Furthermore, the twenty new vessels can be used to land an entire squadron of 100 marines with equipment in a wave of attack.
The landing craft project involves EUR 100-250 million.
Picture: The current LCVPs that will be replaced.
