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Further Reading

De Zeven Provincien
Luchtverdedigings- en commandofregatten (LCF)
Air-Defence and Command Frigates

Anti-Air Warfare (AAW) has been an evolving science ever since the advent of the airplane. Since that time, almost every navy in the world has fielded some form of AAW technology. With the advent of anti-ship missiles in the post-WWII era, AAW has taken on an even more significant role in modern navies. As demonstrated in the Falklands War, one million dollar cruise missiles can sink ships worth hundreds of millions in a matter of seconds. To counter this threat, highly sophisticated AAW systems are being designed around the world. The Royal Netherlands Navy -- traditionally tasked with ASW and minehunting tasks -- improvrf their AAW ability with the construction of the De Zeven Provinicën class of AAW destroyers. These replaced a fleet of aging ships that provided the RNLN with AAW defense.

The Royal Netherlands Navy has 4 De Zeven Provinciën-class air-defence and command frigates Luchtverdedigings- en commandofregatten (LCF): HNLMS De Ruyter, HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën, HNLMS Evertsen and HNLMS Tromp. Those ships went into service in the period 2001-2005. The frigates of the De Zeven Provinciën class have two important roles. They have a command role in facilitating the operations of the deployable and operational staff of the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Netherlands Maritime Force (NLMARFOR). They are also equpped for air-defence tasks. They must be capable of providing protection for an entire fleet. The dual-role tasking is the reason that the ships are known as air-defence and command frigates.

These outstanding platforms with excellent self-defence capability and powerful air defence feature a high degree of automation, resulting in a small crewsize. The combat systems suite is characterised by a highly modern AAW suite, based on the APAR and SMART-L combination. This provides a multi-layer Area Air Defence capability at the Task Force level against saturation attacks. The ships will replace the Tromp and Jacob van Heemskerck Class. The first two ships will be tasked as command ship with extensive communications equipment fitted. The second two ships will be exclusively tasked with area air defence. The platform design is based on the Karel Doorman hull for speed and seakeeping. Signatures have been kept to a practical minimum. Blast and shock hardening measures have been carried through by use of Blast and Fragment Retaining bulkheads, protected ducting of piping and cabling and shock floors. NBC protection is set to high standards.

These are the so-called flagships of the Royal Netherlands Navy. A flagship is the ship assigned to the commander of the Netherlands Maritime Force (C-NLMARFOR), who, together with his staff, commands a group of units (flotilla). Depending on the operation, this may include frigates, submarines, minehunters, supply ships, hydrographical survey ships, helicopters and supporting aircraft. The units are directed from the command center, which is equipped with advanced communications and data facilities. Air-defence and command frigates are specifically equipped to provide air defence and to protect themselves as well as the other units in a flotilla. In addition, the on-board gun can be used to provide fire support to troops on land.

On November 23 2009 Imtech (technical services provider in Europe and in the global maritime market) has commissioned substantial orders to upgrade and expand technical solutions on board existing naval vessels of countries including the Netherlands, South Korea, Australia and Thailand. Imtech is also going to provide part of the on-board technology for new frigates of the Australian navy. Together the orders amount to more than 38 million euro. The Defence Materiel Organisation in the Netherlands contacted Imtech to upgrade the hardware and software of the existing platform automation on board several air defence command and multipurpose frigates of the Dutch navy. The order consists of replacing computers, installing new fiber-optic technology and configuring new processors and measuring & control systems, complete with new and faster software.

The most striking characteristic of the air-defence and command frigates (LCF) is that they use stealth technology. That can be seen by the sharp lines and angular appearance. The high degree of automation of the ships' systems means that the LCFs, in spite of their large size, can be operated by a ship's company of 202 people, including staff. The ships were built by the Royal Schelde Group, of Flushing, Netherlands. The design was a result of collaboration with Spain and Germany in connection with the F100 and F124 project.

The 1999 Defence Memorandum specified that four new frigates would be built, and six of the existing sixteen would be disposed of. The HMS Pieter Florisz was the first to be officially withdrawn from service in Den Helder, on 24 January 2001. Greece had indicated its interest both in this frigate and in the HMS Jan van Brakel. In the past, the country also bought four frigates that had been withdrawn from service by the Netherlands. Of the six ships destined to disappear by the 1999 Defence Memorandum, four were of the so-called S-type. The other two were guided missile frigates. The first four were replaced by the same number of modern air defence and command frigates. The first of these, the Zeven Provincien, which was christened by Queen Beatrix in April 2000, made its first trial voyage in autumn 2001.

Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter, who at 24 March 1607 to Vlissingen was born as son of Adriaan Michiels son and Alida John's daughter. Of his father's father he got his first name and through his mother's father (who had been in Dutch service rider) he earned the nickname De Ruyter, which he later adopted as a surname.

He was one of the largest sea heroes of our country and after the second Bestevaer Maarten Tromp. De Ruyter was under great interest buried in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. He died in a battle against the French fleet, but the awe of the Admiral was so great that the vessel with his remains on the journey back to the Netherlands by French with salutes was welcomed.

As a child, De Ruyter was very adventurous. After he was expelled from school, in 1617, he got a job in the telling touwsla. At the age of eleven he went to sea as boatswain boy on a merchantman. Almost instantly changed the awkward Michiel in a oppassend, diligently, obedient and eager to learn schepeling. He climbed considerably, partly due to the nautical tutorial which he did in his spare time. He was also a short time rider in the army of Prince Maurits, under whom he participated in the occupation of Bergen op Zoom.

In 1622 he went back to sea. He competed at the Cape and fought with moderate success the hijackers in Dunkirk. This he went back to the merchant. In 1641, he was again called under arms. After his appointment as Commander of the warship "The Haze" he got a temporary flag officiersrang and he participated in the battle with the Portuguese against the Spaniards. In 1642 he returned to the merchant and became owner of the ship "The Salamander".

On the point to withdraw he was ashore in 1652, after the first Anglo-Dutch war had broken out, persuaded to once again to play a vlagofficiersfunctie on the country's fleet. When his career took a real flight. He defeated the English Admiral Ayscue at the battle of Plymouth and was, under Witte de With but especially under Maarten Tromp, involved in a large number of naval battles such as those at the downs and Nieuwpoort. Also the battle of Terheyde, where Tromp the life left, made De Ruyter.

After the end of the war in 1654 went to the Mediterranean to the hijackers De Ruyter to fight. De Ruyter acquired great fame in Europe by the defeat to Sweden during their war against the Danes.

In the subsequent years loved De Ruyter are mainly concerned with combating privateers in the Mediterranean Sea. He made this not only use of military means, but he also used the necessary diplomacy to the leaders of the kapershavens to cooperate to move. Not only the Mediterranean, but also the West-African coast and the West Indies were by the squadron of De Ruyter visited in those years to restore order and to protect the Dutch possessions, particularly against the English.

In 1665, during the Second Anglo-Dutch war, De Ruyter was Supreme Commander of the country's fleet and got the Zeven Provinciën as flagship. In this war he achieved his greatest successes. In the four days battle Netherlands loses only 4 ships, opposite 17 ships of the English. In this battle were first Marines deployed.

Then loses the Dutch fleet the St. James's day battle. That loss is Avenged with the Medway. De Ruyter put arsenals and ships of the English fleet on fire and even the British Royal yacht, hijacks the "Royal Charles". The result of the trip was that peace was closed within a few weeks.

During the third Anglo-Dutch war he affects the larger and heavier armed English-French fleet in the battle of Solebay (1672). By the resistance of De Ruyter is the enemy, although not defeated, but the invasion of Holland is there for. This art piece repeated de Ruyter at Schooneveld (2 times even) and Kijkduin. Following these successes, he was called "Savior of the fatherland".

At the end of 1675 De Ruyter was asked to lead an expedition against a strong French fleet near Sicily. He expressed his reservations about the ships promised him: they were poorly maintained, too light armed, the rigging was downright deplorable and they were too small. In addition, he got too little.

These concerns were dismissed by an unknown Admiralty college asking if De Ruyter on his old day suddenly became afraid. The other Admiralty colleges found that very disrespectful towards De Ruyter and requested him to despite his objections to consider the request yet. This De Ruyter replied: "The Lord not to have my requests, but to areas, and all my wierdt bevoolen's description of vlagh on a single ship, I would go there with t'zee, and de Heeren Staaten Huns vlagh will rely, I myn leeven (Arbeitskreis waagen)."

22 april 1676 was De Ruyter at the battle of Mount Etna, against the French fleet, struck by a Cannonball. The battle itself did not lost, but the injuries of De Ruyter were so serious that he april 29, aboard his flagship ' Unity ', died.

De Ruyter

1. 1665-1665 Hunting of 18 pieces
2. 1778-1799 ship-of-the-line. In 1799 to the English given that operated them under the same name. Wrecked In 1804.
3. 1804-1820 ship-of-the-line; renamed in Piet Hein, Rotterdam, Royal Hollander and demolished in 1820 as Hollandais.
4. 1808-1818 Line ship 1st class of 80 pieces.
5. 1831-1900 ship-of-the-line 2nd class; in 1853, rebuilt to frigate 1st class 51 pieces, then equipped with auxiliary steam power, finally converted to armored steam battery.
6. 1876-1879 Screw stoomschip 1st class; in 1879, renamed Queen Emma of the Netherlands.
7. 1880-1900 Screw stoomschip 1st class.
8. 1926-1934 destroyer. In 1934 renamed Of Ghent; as such, sunk in 1942.
9. 1935-1942 light cruiser; the flagship of Karel Doorman in the battle of the Java Sea.
10. 1947-1950 Cruiser; in 1950 renamed De Zeven Provinciën.
11. 1953-1973 Cruiser; ex Hnlms De Zeven Provinciën.
12. 1976-2001 Guided Weapon frigate.

Thales AAW System

The Netherlands and the German navies use the Thales AAW system on board of the Air Defence and Command frigates of the Netherlands Navy and the F124 frigates of the German Navy. Both navies have demonstrated the phenomenal capabilities of the Thales AAW system in several live firing demonstrations. This AAW system is the result of a successful trade-off between a low-risk evolution and a daring but well-considered infusion of the latest technologies. Making full use of the inherent qualities of the SM2 and ESSM missiles, it captures the best of European and US capabilities and experience in AAW development. The system is based on the NATO Anti Air Warfare (NAAWS) concept combined with the latest thoughts and evolutions in Area Air Defence.

The AAW system features the following performance/capabilities:

• fully automatic control by operator set doctrine(s)
• maximum detection through sensor data fusion
• high fire power at short to medium range and for stealthy targets
• supports long range intercepts up to max. missile range
• up to 16 simultaneous engagements with different salvo sizes
• inherent growth potential for Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence (TBMD)
• large ready to fire launch capability (e.g. 40 Standard Missiles (SM-2) or 160 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM) or any combination in a 40 cell Mk4l launcher)

The Active Phased Array Radar [APAR] non-rotating antenna houses four faces that together cover the full 360 degrees. Each face consists of more than 3000 very small radar transmitter/receiver (T/R) elements, giving the radar its unique capabilities and high operational availability. The inherent agility of APAR guarantees a high performance in the most adverse conditions, under severe electronic protection measures. APAR makes use of Interrupted Continuous Wave Illuminations (ICWI) technology, a concept that has been developed in the international Tri-lateral Frigate Cooperation formed by the Netherlands, Germany and Canada. This technology enables APAR to simultaneously guide multiple missiles to one or more threats.

With a minor equipment modification, the AAWS has potential MTBMD capabilities. That's why Thales Nederland is also involved in international cooperation on Maritime Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence (MTBMD). On 23 December 2005 the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) and Thales Nederland signed a contract on Tactical Ballistic Missile Defence (TBMD). The contract consists of a technology upgrade of the Thales Anti Air Warfare System with an early warning function to support the implementation of a TBMD capability on the Royal Netherlands Navy's Air Defence and Command frigates. The function is based on the Thales long-range SMART L radar system.

The system upgrade was demonstrated by the RNLN with support of Thales in the Pacific Ocean late 2006. The HNLMS Tromp, one of the RNLN's De Zeven Provinciën class frigates, participated in a US test event that involved the launch of a Tactical Ballistic Missile (TBM) test target from Hawaii. For this demonstration, SMART-L's already impressive detection range was considerably extended, supported by increased data processing power achieved by additions made to the Tromp's Combat Management System. The timing of the demonstration is consistent with the new roadmap for the Royal Netherlands Navy initiated by the Netherlands Minister of Defence Mr. Henk Kamp, and the NATO roadmap for an Active Layered TBMD (ALTBMD).

In preparation for this demonstration event, a successful trial was performed at the RNLN's Land-Based Test Site in the Netherlands early 2005 which gave Thales the confidence to look forward to the demonstration of the sensor upgrade under contract. During live missile firing tests held by the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) in March 2005, the APAR radar system successfully guided two Evolved SeaSparrow Missiles (ESSM) and two Standard Missiles (SM2) simultaneously to various targets, destroying them all. The RNLN performed three test scenarios on board of "De Zeven Provinciën", the first of class of the new Air Defence and Command frigates, in the vicinity of the island of Madeira. The tests constituted an absolute first in any test firing: APAR engaged two drones by guiding four missiles simultaneously to the targets, using only one of its four faces.

The first missile tests of APAR were held in November 2003, also on board of "De Zeven Provinciën". In August 2004, the Air Defence and Command Frigate "Sachsen", the first of class of the German Navy F124 frigates, successfully tested the system as well. These tests consisted of firing 21 SM-2 and ESSM missiles against several types of threats. They unequivocally demonstrated the system's capability against multiple targets.

Joint Air & Missile Defence [JAMD] comprises, on the one hand, defence against conventional air threats like aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aircraft and balloons (Air Defence) and, on the other hand, defence against ballistic and cruise missiles (Missile Defence). The ascription Joint points to the joint, integrated plans and actions of the armed services. The Dutch armed forces have a wide range of JAMD systems: the Navy with its air-defence and command frigates, the air force with the most sophisticated land-based Patriot systems and the army with the imminent implementation of the Future Ground Based Air Defence System (FGBADS).