Vendors are invited to submit their proposals, even if their vessel is only partially compliant.

The Netherlands is planning to acquire new off-the-shelf uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) to support open sea and littoral intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).

Ahead of the upcoming tender, the Netherlands defence ministry initially seeks to further its understanding of the available USV-ISR solutions and their capabilities, according to a market consultation notice on the EU’s tendering website on 14 August.

Although the notice does not specify the number of units required, it provides a detailed description of the ministry’s operational requirements for the vessels.

The USV, the notice states, will be involved in amphibious and offshore patrol missions – transported by larger Royal Netherlands Navy ships – and must be available now, ensuring rapid operational deployment.

To meet these demands, the vessels must be capable of operating in the North Atlantic Ocean and North Sea, sustaining speeds of at least 10kt, and have an endurance of more than seven days.

Sensors equipped onboard the vessels should support the capability to detect, localise, and classify “contacts” in the seabed, subsurface, and surface domains as well as in the air and on land (shore).

While the requirements are described as “ambitious” and may not be individually or in combination technically feasible or affordable, it should act as a benchmark, highlighting the navy’s ambition, the notice states.

Interested vendors are invited to submit proposals before 30 September, even if their vessel is only partially compliant.

This latest notice follows several other similar projects from the Royal Netherlands Navy to bolster its fleet of maritime uncrewed systems. For example, the defence ministry is currently working with the Dutch Naval Design consortium to explore the development of a 12m USV to support the navy's anti-submarine warfare frigates.