De Zeven Provinciën-class frigate

The four De Zeven Provinciën-class frigates are air-defence and command frigates in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy (Koninklijke Marine). This class of ships is also known as "LCF" (Luchtverdedigings- en commandofregat, air defense and command frigate). The ships are similar to the German Sachsen-class frigates in role and mission.

Antiaircraft warfare
These ships were optimized for anti-aircraft warfare and command. For this role the ships are equipped with an advanced sensor and weapons suite. The primary sensors for this role are the long range surveillance radar SMART-L and the multifunction radar Active Phased Array Radar (APAR). The SMART-L and APAR are highly complementary, in the sense that SMART-L is a D band radar providing very long range surveillance while APAR is an I band radar providing precise target tracking, a highly capable horizon search capability, and missile guidance using the Interrupted Continuous Wave Illumination (ICWI) technique, thus allowing guidance of 32 semi-active radar homing missiles in flight simultaneously, including 16 in the terminal guidance phase. The primary anti-aircraft weapons are the point defence Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile and the area defence RIM-66 Standard Missile (SM-2) Block IIIA. The Mk 41 Vertical Launching System is used to house and launch these missiles. 32 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile and 32 Standard Missile SM-2 Block IIIA are carried.

Ballistic missile defence
The Royal Netherlands Navy (RNN) investigated the use of these ships for the role of ballistic missile defence (BMD). During tests carried out by HNLMS Tromp (F803) in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii, experimental modifications to the SMART-L to allow even longer range were proven. A study by the RNN, the Netherlands Defence Material Organization, Thales Nederland, Raytheon Missile Systems, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and Lockheed Martin was conducted to establish the feasibility of modifying the De Zeven Provinciën class to provide it the capability to intercept ballistic missiles. In particular, the study examined the feasibility of integrating the SM-3 Block IB missile with the SMART-L and APAR radars. The study concluded that – with certain modifications to the SMART-L and APAR, as well as to the ship's Combat Management System and the missile itself – BMD with the De Zeven Provinciën class could be achieved. During a 2015 very large NATO military exercise the BMD capabilities were proven, the sensor suite discovered ballistic targets, and the ship destroyed them using both its own surface-to-air missiles, as well as using a U.S. Navy destroyer's missiles, by providing target data and missile guidance.

A contract was awarded for the radar modification in June 2012. Operational tests and live firing showed the performance to exceed expectations.

Modernization
The De Zeven Provinciën-class ships will get the new SMART-L Mk 2 radar that can detect ballistic missiles at a range of 2000 km. The Dutch minister promised also that the APAR radar will have a bigger range than 400 km as the Netherlands is the first country to participate as an active missile shield for NATO.

In late 2011, the Ministry of Defence announced a modernization program to upgrade the SMART-L early-warning radar so that De Zeven Provinciën-class frigates can detect and track ballistic missiles at extended range. This modernization program is scheduled for completion by late 2017 for the entire De Zeven Provinciën class. In 2018 plans were announced to acquire the BMD-capable SM-3 surface-to-air missiles as the ships are provisioned for an extra 8-cell vertical launch module, De Zeven Provinciën-class frigates can pass on the tracking and detection data to other sea-based or land-defense BMD assets, including U.S. Navy's warships, that can deal with a ballistic missile threat.

On 3 May 2018 the Dutch Secretary of Defence, Barbara Visser, informed the Dutch national parliament that the evolved sea sparrow missile (ESSM) aboard the De Zeven Provinciën-class frigates will be upgraded from block 1 to block 2. This upgrade will be completed by 2024 and will allow the frigates to deal with the growing threat of modern anti-ship missiles. ESSM Block 2 allows the four frigates to defend against missiles that have greater speed, agility and perform unexpected movements. The current Harpoon surface-to-surface missile (SSM) will also be replaced with a new SSM by 2024. Furthermore, the current Otobreda 127/54 Compact cannon will be replaced with Otobreda 127/64 cannons. The new cannon must be able to fire multiple types of ammunition, including in the future precision-guided ammunition. The project costs between €100 million and €250 million, and will be take place between 2018 and 2023. Lastly, the Goalkeepers will be upgraded to a new version and all ships will have two installed as originally designed, they will eventually be replaced after 2025 by a new system.

In the Strategic Defence Review 2022 the acquisition of SM-3 and BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles was announced for which the Mk 41 vertical launch systems will be expanded with an additional unit of 8 cells.

Surface and subsurface warfare
As noted above, these ships were optimized for anti-aircraft warfare, but they also have weapons on-board capable of performing anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare, for example: the RGM-84F Harpoon missile and Mark 46 torpedoes. In a new defense Study published by the Dutch government in March 2018, it was stated the frigates will receive a new surface-to-surface missile to succeed the Harpoon Block 1D.

Proposals to equip the De Zeven Provinciën-class frigates with a total of 32 BGM-109 Tomahawk (8 per ship) cruise missiles were evaluated, but these were shelved in May 2005 but reconfirmed in 2022.

Live missile firings
In November 2003, some 200 nmi from the Azores, the missile guidance capabilities were tested with live firings for the first time. The firings involved the firing of a single ESSM and a single SM-2ER Block IIIA. These firings were the first ever live firings involving a full-size ship-borne active electronically scanned array (i.e., APAR) guiding missiles using the ICWI technique in an operational environment. As related by Jane's Navy International:

During the tracking and missile-firing tests, target profiles were provided by Greek-built EADS/3Sigma Iris PVK medium-range subsonic target drones. [...] According to the RNLN, ... APAR immediately acquired the missile and maintained track until destruction". [...] These ground-breaking tests represented the world's first live verification of the ICWI technique.

Further live firings were performed in March 2005, again in the Atlantic Ocean some 180 nmi west of the Azores. The tests involved three live-firing events including firing a single SM-2 Block IIIA at an Iris target drone at long range, a single ESSM at an Iris target drone, and a two-salvo launch (with one salvo comprising two SM-2 Block IIIAs and the other comprising two ESSMs) against two incoming Iris target drones. The long-range SM-2 engagement apparently resulted in an intercept at a range of greater than 100 km from the ship, with a missile-target miss distance of 2.4 m (the warhead's proximity fuse having been disabled for the purposes of the test).

During the military exercise Formidable Shield 2021, HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën detected and tracked a ballistic missile with Thales-made SMART-L MM radar and relayed the target information to USS Paul Ignatius for SM-3 engagement. With this activity, the Netherlands becomes the only European country that can simultaneously scan the airspace beyond the atmosphere and space up to 2000 km for air threats.

Counterpiracy operations
Ships of the De Zeven Provinciën class have been involved in counter-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa. The untraditional target set (i.e., small slow-moving or even static surface targets) can apparently be challenging for doppler radars designed to take on "high end" threats. However, according to Jane's International Defence Review:

[The RNLN has] reported great success using tailored surface-search software for the APAR sets fitted to the De Zeven Provinciën-class frigates deployed on antipiracy roles. By sacrificing some of APAR's high-end antiaircraft warfare capabilities, which were deemed unnecessary for the antipiracy role, its performance and resolution were improved in the surface-search role.

Export
On 30 November 2017, Alion Canada submitted a proposal based on the De Zeven Provinciën class for the Canadian Single Class Surface Combatant Project. Damen Group, as builder of the De Zeven Provincien-class frigates, was part of Alion's team in this proposal.

Replacement
In 2020 it was announced that these intensively used ships will not be replaced as planned around 2025. The Royal Netherlands Navy and the German Navy will cooperate towards a joint platform design to replace both the Sachsen-class frigates and De Zeven Provinciën-class frigates from 2030–2035 onwards.

In March 2024 the State Secretary for Defence send a letter to the Tweede Kamer in which plans to replace the current De Zeven Provinciën class air-defense frigates with a new class of four new air-defense frigates were announced. The four new ships are estimated to cost more than 3.5 billion euros and the first ship is expected to be operational in 2036. The Dutch Damen Group will have a main role in the construction of the new ships.

List of ships
All ships were built at the Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding shipyard in Vlissingen, Netherlands.

Similar ships

 * Horizon-class frigate, French/Italian collaboration
 * Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate, Denmark
 * Shivalik-class frigate, India