Dutch Give Walrus New Life

In 2004, following the bankruptcy of submarine builder Rotterdamse Droogdok Mij., the Dutch alliance began pushing for a life extension to the Dutch Walrus class submarines. Built between 1990 and 1994, the Walrus class originally built for conditions relevant during the cold war found themselves mostly utilized as littoral submarines in shallow water. In part this has contributed to a 35 year shelf life, allowing the submarines to serve up to 2025 if maintained.

In 2005, the Royal Netherlands Navy began a study to determine what modernizations would be required to operate effectively until 2025, and by the summer of last years the details had been worked out. Ares carries the latest news.

The Netherlands will spend up to 100 million euros ($155 million) to upgrade their four indigenously-designed and built Walrus-class diesel-electric submarines over the coming years... aiming to keep the 1980s-built, 2,800-metric-ton boats in frontline service until at least 2025.

The upgrade program allows the Dutch to postpone having to think about a submarine replacement program for another five to seven years.

That last part is important, because while there are several Dutch companies that contribute components to modern submarines like the British Astute class and the German 212s, without Rotterdamse Droogdok Mij. the Dutch may not have a company capable of building a complete submarine right now.

The life extension to the Walrus class should be able to give the Dutch alliance some extra time to continue developing industrial capabilities towards a new submarine, but some submarine industry experts familiar with the Dutch industrial base have concluded that while the next submarine will have most of its system built by domestic industrial base, it is more than likely the submarine hulls will be built as an import.

For more information on the specific upgrades, check Ares.