Dutch Naval Design
Dutch naval design authority tasked with the ASW uncrewed surface vessel design.
Dutch Naval Design is the naval design authority the Netherlands Ministry of Defence authorised on 4 August 2026 to design 12-metre anti-submarine uncrewed surface vessels for the Dutch-Belgian frigate programme, choosing autonomous sonar over Belgium's tethered ROV approach.
Last refreshed: 12 August 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why put a submarine-hunting sonar on a robot boat instead of the frigate itself?
Timeline for Dutch Naval Design
The Dutch put the sonar on the robot
Autonomous Systems: Land & SeaBackground
Dutch Naval Design is the design authority responsible for uncrewed surface vessels supporting the Netherlands' frigate programme. On 4 August 2026 the Dutch Ministry of Defence authorised it to design 12-metre anti-submarine warfare drones and to buy an adapted Compact FLASH dipping sonar from Thales Underwater Systems France to fit them.
The vessels serve the two-strong Dutch-Belgian frigate programme built by Damen Naval. Belgium, sharing the same order, tendered instead for tethered remotely operated vehicles, keeping a human deciding what a manipulator Arm touches rather than trusting full autonomy.
The design choice lets a frigate hunt submarines through a sonar mounted on a separate uncrewed boat, so the frigate need not give away its own position by lowering a dipping sonar itself. Build work sits with the USV Alliance, a consortium inside Dutch Naval Design.