French defense company Naval Group and the Netherlands have signed an industrial cooperation agreement (ICA) related to the contract for the Replacement Netherlands Submarine Capability (RNSC) program.
As informed, the ceremony was held at the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs in The Hague. The ICA is a binding document that lays out the industrial cooperation strategy of Naval Group with the Netherlands defense and maritime sector for the RNSC program, which will be signed in the coming weeks.
The Netherlands selected Naval Group to deliver four new generation expeditionary submarines, based on the Barracuda family design. This new class of ships should meet demanding operational needs and aims at being a worthy replacement to the current Walrus-class.
“This agreement lays out an ambitious cooperation between the Netherlands Defense Technological and Industrial Base (NLDTIB) and Naval Group to build the next generation of the Royal Netherlands Navy’s submarines together. We are eager to keep leveraging on this cooperation in the future,” Pierre Eric Pommellet , Chairman and CEO of Naval Group stated.
This agreement lays out the industrial cooperation strategy of Naval Group with the Netherlands defense and maritime sector, involving industries and knowledge centers, with the aim of maximizing strategic autonomy.
The ICA will lead to a significant strengthening of the Netherlands Defense Technological and Industrial Base (NLDTIB) in the field of design, development and production of critical components and subsystems for the submarines, but also for systems for surface vessels.
“For years we worked towards a long-term strategic partnership with Naval Group, and this brought us to this unique moment in time. Verebus is looking forward to a fruitful collaboration, which already resulted in a first signed contract to start the development of a sustainable and efficient engineering support model for the submarines of the RNSC program,” Pieter van Breugel , Managing Director of Verebus, said.