Netherlands to equip two frigates with Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles.

According to information published by the Dutch MoD on April 29, 2022, 2 of the 4 air defense and command frigates (De Zeven Provinciën-class) will be equipped with new air defense missiles and technology as of 2028. These are so-called Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) Block 2 missiles. In 2018, the plan was still to equip all 4 frigates of the Navy with these.
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De Zeven Provinciën-class frigate launching ESSM Block 1 (Picture source: Dutch MoD)

The main task of the LC (De Zeven Provinciën-class) frigates is to defend an entire fleet against an air threat. This threat is increasing all the time, especially because of modern anti-ship missiles.

These are advanced weapons with a speed of several times the sound, which are also very maneuverable. The Navy's current anti-aircraft missiles are increasingly unable to deal with this modern threat.

The ESSM Block 2 is better able to deal with that. This is a modern anti-aircraft missile for naval ships for the medium range (several kilometers). The missiles work together with the so-called Active Phased Array Radar (APAR). This radar does not rotate, but continuously visualizes the airspace through 4 planes.

The APAR has a range of 150 kilometers and can simultaneously search for multiple targets, follow them and transmit to the fire control where they are. The radar guides the launched missile to the target. The LC frigates are therefore more future-proof.

The new version of the APAR is currently under development and is not expected until 2027. It is initially being developed for the new ASW frigates for anti-submarine warfare. The ASW frigates will replace the M frigates at the end of this decade.

The radar was initially supposed to be installed in all 4 LC frigates, but it is only happening in 2 ships. The reasons are that the installation of the new APAR radar is considerably more expensive than was thought at the time.

In addition, the APAR is not available until 2 of the 4 frigates have undergone major maintenance. That happens a year before the radar is available. It is not efficient to retrofit these 2 LC frigates with the new technology. These ships would then be unavailable for a longer period of time twice within a few years. Moreover, both frigates will already be replaced in the following years. The 2 frigates that do get the new technology will be replaced starting in 2034.

It is also expected that in 2028 the spare parts for the current equipment for firing missiles will run out. This includes the old APAR. This will remain in use longer because in 2019 it was decided to keep the LC frigates in service for 5 years longer. This decision was made because the Ministry of Defence had to free up money for real estate projects. The stock of spare parts had not taken this into account. Those parts now come from the ships that will be upgraded later.

About RIM-162 ESSM

The RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) is a development of the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missile used to protect ships from attacking missiles and aircraft. ESSM is designed to counter supersonic maneuvering anti-ship missiles.