The Netherlands turns to the United States and Israel to acquire long-range strike capabilities

Since the start of Russian aggression against Ukraine, the Netherlands has been one of the European countries that has evolved its defense posture the most. As early as May 2022, Amsterdam announced an increase of €5 billion in its defense investments , i.e. growth of 40%, to achieve by 2024 a defense effort greater than 2% of the country's GDP, where it It was only 1.41% in 2021, and it was envisaged in 2020 to drop from the NATO defense objective . Two months later, in July, the Dutch authorities published a new, very ambitious White Paper , providing, in addition to an increase in the defense effort, the modernization of all armored vehicles of the land forces, a major effort to equip itself with reinforced land and naval anti-aircraft defense, the implementation of a third fighter squadron equipped with F-35A , as well as the acquisition of long-range strike capabilities for the 3 armies. It is to meet this latter ambition that the Dutch authorities announced an ambitious acquisition plan a few days ago.

Thus, after Germany, Finland and Poland, the Dutch air forces announced that they too would suspect the JASSM-ER missile to arm their F-35As. With a range of 1000 km, this airborne cruise missile weighing one ton and 4.23 meters long, operates at subsonic speed at very low altitude. It also has a low radar equivalent surface and reduced infrared radiation making it difficult to detect, and therefore to counter. The missile also carries a 450 kg WDU-42/B warhead designed to penetrate and destroy heavily hardened targets. Finally, it has an intelligent infrared seeker and a data link, so as to reinforce its terminal precision and the evaluation of effectiveness, even in the event of electromagnetic jamming. It is also relatively economical, with a unit price slightly above $1 million in public data.

De Zeven Provinciën class frigates , but also the 4 attack submarines of the Royal Netherlands Navy with RGM/UGM-109E Tomahawk Land Attack Missile cruise missiles ( TLAM-E Block IV), final version and only variant still in production of the Tomahawk. With a range of more than 1,600 km, the Tomahawk carries, at subsonic speed and low altitude as it should, a military load of 1000 pounds, or 450 kg. It takes place aboard surface ships in the system's silos. VLS Mk41 which equip the 4 Dutch frigates, or can be launched via a medium-change capsule by the standard 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes which arm most of the submarines of the NATO. In addition to the US Navy, the TLAM is also currently in service with the British naval forces, and will soon equip new Australian, Canadian and Japanese destroyers and submarines.

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