The Royal Netherlands Navy will upgrade its four Walrus Class submarines with the second-generation escape system HABETaS, under a new contract.

The upgrade will be materialised under a contract agreement made by the Dutch Defense Material Organisation with the German shipbuilding company, Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft for the delivery of eight HABETaS.

Under this contract the company will deliver and integrate the HABETaS elements into existing submarines and will provide training for the handling and maintenance of the system.

This new escape system defeats the technical limitations related to escape depth and minimum supply pressures in the case of deliverance of submarine crews.

The implementation of the system will increase escape depths and a significantly increase the number of escapees.

The submarines will be equipped with HABETaS at the Dutch Navy base in the Netherlands within the next two years.

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