Each of the Royal Netherlands Navy’s new Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigates (ASWFs) will be equipped with a 12 m-long uncrewed surface vessel (USV) featuring a FLASH dipping sonar, Thales announced on 3 August 2026.
The company announced that on that day the Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD) had given the go-ahead for Dutch Naval Design (DND) to commence the design work and finalise the procurement of the FLASH dipping sonar, which is yet to be adapted.
DND is a partnership between the Dutch Ministry of Defence, industry, academia and research institutions.
A number of parties within DND had submitted a proposal under the name USV Alliance. These companies and research institutions have different profiles in terms of size, technical focus and background, but “together, they possess the skills, knowledge and expertise relevant to this project” Thales stated.
“When designing the new 12-m-long uncrewed vessels, the builders must take the integration of various new systems into account from the outset,” Thales added. “One example is the Compact FLASH sonar from Thales Underwater Systems France. These dipping sonars extend the frigate’s field of view without revealing the vessel’s location.”
The ASWF programme is a project of the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) and the Belgian Navy to replace their Karel Doorman (M-class)-class frigates. The Netherlands leads the ASWF project, with Damen and Thales acting as prime contractors. So far two frigates each have been ordered by the Netherlands and Belgium, although plans are for the Netherlands to operate four frigates and Belgium to operate three.
