The Dutch Navy reported on its social networks the fact of a successful test launch of a Tomahawk cruise missile, which took place from the flagship frigate HNLMS De Ruyter of the De Zeven Provinciën project off the east coast of the United States; At the same time, the tests themselves took place in cooperation with the American Navy.
Thus, the Netherlands has already become the fourth user of Tomahawk missiles after Australia, but this event is unexpected based on publicly available information. Moreover, apparently, the transfer of missiles and related technologies took place in a secret mode.
In April 2023, the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands announced its desire to receive Tomahawk cruise missiles to strike ground targets at a distance of more than 1000 kilometers, which in turn fit into the overall intention to modernize the Dutch armed forces.
However, there was no data on practical steps towards the implementation of this intention, in particular, the conclusion of an appropriate contract with the United States or at least a published permit from DSCA for the supply of missiles and related equipment.
In November 2024, the Netherlands joined the European initiative to create long-range ELSA missile weapons for strikes on the Russian Federation, and this looked like a step in the direction of “instead of Tomahawk”, given the current context.
Against this background, it would be logical to say that the emergence of capabilities in the Dutch Navy to use Tomahawks looks more than unexpected.
But in this context, you should pay attention to the publication Naval News, which was released in September 2023 and outlined that all four frigates of the De Zeven Provinciën project in the service of the Dutch Navy should be adapted to Tomahawk in the period 2025-2029, and the flagship in this process was to be the HNLMS De Ruyter.
A feature of the Dutch frigates De Zeven Provinciën is the presence of five Mk 41 type UVPs with eight cells each (i.e. a total of 40 launch silos). That is, it was not necessary to additionally “cut” launchers for Tomahawks on such ships, it was simply necessary to modernize the fire control system.
However, according to initial plans, the first test launch of the Tomahawk from the Dutch HNLMS De Ruyter was supposed to take place in the 3rd quarter of 2024, but in fact this event has only now taken place (based on the message of the Dutch Navy on social networks).
Recall that at the moment, the United States, Great Britain, Australia and the Netherlands have sea-based Tomahawk cruise missiles at their disposal, and Japan is in the queue to receive such missiles, which in January 2024 ordered the supply of a total of 400 missiles of this type and related equipment.
And in February 2025, Germany expressed interest in receiving the Tomahawk in a ground version instead of the European LCM for strikes on the Russian Federation.
