Ship design project of the Royal Netherlands Navy
Ship class
The Amphibious Transport Ship (ATS) is an initiative by the Dutch Navy to procure a series of six amphibious warfare ships as a replacement for the Rotterdam class and Holland class.[1]
History
In the 2022 Defense spending bill it was announced that at the end of their life cycle the two Rotterdam-class ships will be replaced together with the four ships of the Holland-class to form a new class of 'cross-over' ships with patrol-, amphibious- & emergency relief capabilities in mind.[2]
As of March 2024, this program is still in early development. More details will be released in the B-letter, which is expected in 2025. With the D-letter following in 2027, after which contract signing will take place. The first ship is planned to be in service by 2032, with the next five being commissioned with one year intervals.[1] The intended builder was announced to be the Damen Group.[3]
UK-Dutch cooperation
In June 2023, the Netherlands and British governments announced that the two countries would "explore opportunities" to jointly develop new specialist amphibious warships.[4]
However, in March 2024, this effort was reportedly abandoned as the two countries identified that their requirements and budgets were too different for a single design. Instead they would focus on Anglo-Dutch coordination on subsystems, landing craft, and aviation. With the British continuing with their MRSS program. One key difference was the ships' ability to operate independently without an escort. This was a British preference which would require more substantial self-defence capability.[5][6][7][8]
See also
Citations