An important bone of contention that stands in the way of cooperation between the Netherlands and Germany in the field of new frigates would be a new missile that both countries have in mind. That is what sources say to Marineschips.nl. In order for this missile to communicate via Thales’ radars, adjustments would have to be made and that would hinder the German navy.
Launch by the German frigate FGS Sachsen of the SM-2 Block IIIA. The Thales APAR is placed in the front mast. That radar consists of four plates with a part of a sphere in the center of the plate. (Photo: German Navy)
In March Marineschips.nl wrote about the problems surrounding the German-Dutch frigate cooperation. Both countries want to replace their current air defense frigates with a new ship (F127 in Germany and FuAD in the Netherlands). The plan to do that together came in heavy weather because of the German preference for the American AEGIS and not for the Dutch radars of Thales from Hengelo.
Because Defense wants Thales radars to be developed for the new frigates, the collaboration seemed to go under.
Although the issue has not yet been resolved, Marineschips.nl also understands that there has not yet been a final break between the two countries in the field of frigates. Germany and the Netherlands are still discussing the joint replacement of the frigates.
It was known that Germany, partly due to the war in Ukraine, is in a hurry with the development of the F127. However, it was not clear exactly why they would choose AEGIS. There is now more information about one of the most important issues that stands in the way of the German-Dutch frigate.
Family of rockets. Here you can see the different domains where these missiles can reach their targets. The Dutch navy currently has one missile against ships, namely the Harpoon (in the circle of ASuW, Anti Surface Warfare) and two missiles against flying targets: SM-2 and ESSM (AAW, Anti Air Warfare). So the SM-2 Block IIIC is new and it occupies a unique place: air and sea. The current SM-2 Block IIIA is made for air targets. (Image: US Navy)
Rocket as a fission mushroom
The Dutch Defense already announced its interest in the Standard Missile Block IIIC four years ago. This is an improved version of the missile that is now in use by, among others, the German and Dutch navies, the SM-2 Block IIIA. Production of the old Block IIIA will cease and the Block IIIC combines the range and speed of the current SM-2 system with the precision of the SM-6 missile. The Block IIIC is not only intended against air targets, but can also be used as a supersonic weapon against ships.
In addition to the Netherlands, in addition to Canada and Australia, Germany is also said to be interested in the new weapon, which is currently being developed.
As with the earlier version of the Standard Missile, there is a technical hurdle to overcome before the missile can be deployed using a Thales radar. The standard version is mainly developed for AEGIS. AEGIS uses an S-band radar to communicate with the missile. Thales has an X-band radar and, together with the American industry, has ensured an adjustment, so that communication is still possible.
Those adjustments are therefore again on the Dutch program, also for this rocket. That is why Defense wrote to the House in 2018 that the Netherlands would participate in the development.
Precisely those adjustments would prevent the German navy from choosing the Dutch radars; according to the Germans, these could possibly have a delaying effect. A choice for the American AEGIS means that no adjustments are necessary to allow the missile to communicate with radar, which could save time.
It is often said that Dutch-German cooperation is only possible if both countries can supply systems. For example, Thales supplied the sensors for the German and Dutch air defense frigates and Germany received a counter order for certain software. The Dutch-German vehicle cooperation proves that both countries can also choose a supplier without counter orders. In July, Germany and the Netherlands ordered 1,000 and 500 vehicles respectively from the German Rheinmetall for their army. (Image: Defense)
Politics
Aligning the communication between missile and radar is a technical challenge, but not impossible. A tricky aspect of this adjustment, however, is the political side. It is illustrative that radar-missile communication has long been on international agendas. As early as 2000, a project was started to choose a universal protocol so that both S and X-band radars could communicate with the missiles.
This dual-band project became more concrete around 2009 and during American-Dutch laboratory tests in Hengelo, it turned out that the Dutch X-band radar APAR was perfectly adequate for the dual-band. In fact, according to one of the Thales technicians who was there at the time, APAR was better than what AEGIS could offer at the time. Also later when test elements of the radar were placed in the Lange Jaap lighthouse, APAR proved to be suitable for dual-band.
Although the long-running project would solve the S and X band problem, it remains a lingering issue. This is partly because many parties, mainly in the US, are involved in this project and each has their own interests. The ESSM community, the Standard Missile community, and other groups frequently clashed with each other.
In addition, enabling X-band communication as standard makes it easier for Thales to integrate new missiles. With systems such as SMART-L MM/N, Thales is a competitor of AEGIS, which could then make competition tougher for the Americans.
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German customer
As mentioned, talks between the Netherlands and Germany are still ongoing. Apparently there is a reason in Germany not to immediately switch to AEGIS. It is not known what prevented the Germans from taking the plunge in the spring.
Experts that Marineschips.nl spoke to point out that AEGIS is not the perfect solution either. AEGIS is a very large system in which the software for the command center, fire control, sensors (radars, sonar, etc.) and weapon systems are optimally coordinated. It is a considerable step, also for German industry, to take this American system on board in its entirety. Previously, the software for the command center (the CMS) was made by the German industry. But every adjustment causes a delay.
A choice for AEGIS also means that Germany does not opt for European missiles.
Finally, the question is whether Germany will receive the latest version of AEGIS. There are currently 110 ships operating AEGIS, 87 of which are US flagged.
But where Germany, with eleven frigates now, is a small customer for the American industry, Germany is a major customer of Thales. Choosing AEGIS would be a major setback for Thales.
If the fall of the Rutte cabinet and the upcoming elections do not throw a spanner in the works, the A-letter that is planned for the end of this year will have to provide more clarity. This letter, announced by outgoing State Secretary Van der Maat, is expected to contain more information about possible cooperation with Germany.
Author: Jaime Karremann
Jaime is the founder of Marineschips.nl and has written more than 1,500 articles on various naval topics. In 2017 he published his non-fiction book In the deepest secret and later submarine thriller Orka. Before Jaime started working full-time with this site, he spent over 12 years in the Navy, mostly in a civilian role. Jaime studied Communication in Groningen.
2023-08-25 18:22:01
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