The Netherlands has signed an Industrial Cooperation Agreement (ICA) with Naval Group on the Replacement Netherlands Submarine Capability (RNSC) programme.
The ICA puts Naval Group under contract to deliver four new generation expeditionary submarines which will be based on the Barracuda design.
The Netherlands has judged that this new class of submarines will meet its operational needs as a replacement to the current Walrus class which has been scheduled for replacement for years.
Approval was granted for a new class of diesel-electric attack submarines (SSKs) under the Walrus Replacement Programme (WRES) back in 2018 with deliveries of its replacement expected in