The governments of the UK and the Netherlands have finalised a £2.4bn ($3.2bn) agreement to build a new fleet of amphibious transport ships for both nations’ armed forces.
The agreement was signed by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten during the Nato summit in Ankara, Türkiye on 7 July.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
According to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), the new vessels will be a “backbone” of a strengthened UK-Netherlands amphibious force.
The ships, using a Dutch design, will be constructed in UK shipyards in collaboration with Dutch industry.
The project will deliver eight amphibious transport ships in total, with each country set to operate four vessels.
At 160 metres (m) in length and weighing 15,000 tonnes (t), the ships are designed to carry troops, vehicles, and equipment, as well as drones.
Their flight decks will accommodate both current and next-generation long-range drones and autonomous systems, supporting the Royal Navy’s ongoing move towards a hybrid navy.
UK Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis said: “We are building an even stronger amphibious force with the Netherlands, strengthening our defence and deterrence as close Nato allies and Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) partners. Our forces will operate the same equipment and deploy on exercises together, so if they need to, we can fight and win together. In close partnership, we are responding to the threats we face to make our nations and Europe safer.”
The agreement includes plans for increased collaboration between the Royal Navy and Royal Netherlands Navy in training, deployment, and operations.
According to the UK MoD, operating identical amphibious vessels is an important step towards closer integration between the two navies, particularly as both militaries invest in drone and autonomous technology.
As well as supporting the UK’s Defence Investment Plan, this arrangement follows a previous contract under which the UK will supply five Type 26 ships to Norway, a project the government says is supporting 4,000 British jobs.
The two nations have also stated their intention to protect undersea infrastructure and work together on emerging defence and security challenges.
