The scenario has been debated for a long time and has been supported by a large part of the political landscape: Belgium is following its Dutch partner is the path to an extended fleet of ASWF ships. The investment is just one among others the new government plans to implement in regard of the « new threat environment » and the need to « strengthen our resilience ».
« An assessment and readjustment of the existing strategic plan and military programming law is necessary to ensure that we can participate more credibly in collective defence in the medium term », the new political coalition adds. The document does not mention specifically the extra ship nor how it will be implemented once the process of revising the Belgian MoD’s strategic vision has been completed.
Belgium and the Netherlands each ordered two frigates under a 3,6 billion € contract awarded in June 2023 to the Dutch naval shipbuilder Damen and Thales as sub-contractor. The governmental agreement neither detailed the budget nor the agenda but with Belgium investing around 2 billion € for two frigates (expected delivery in late 2030 and late 2031), the hypothetic third vessel would ask a further billion € for a delivery occurring at least after mid-2032.
In another move, the new government propose to bolster the MoD expertise « in the field of mine countermeasures on land and at sea, with particular attention to the defence of our undersea infrastructure. We are planning sufficient command capabilities for these functions,» without further detailing the proposed investment for some « ambitious mine-warfare tools ».
Belgium is a the forefront in terms of mine warfare modernization, with six mine countermeasure vessels and hundreds of associated unmanned systems being delivered for 2030. The first ship, M940 Oostende, began sea trials in July 2024. Its delivery is expected for next summer, with a 8 month delay.
Check out our interview on the ASW Frigate with Damen at NIDV NEDS 2024:
