Dutch to purchase 14 helicopters for special operations

The Netherlands will purchase 14 H225 Caracal helicopters to carry out special operations, replacing the nation’s current fleet of Cougar transport helicopters from 2028 onwards, the Defence Ministry has announced.

The country’s current Cougar transport helicopters have been in use for 27 years without ever being properly refurbished. They are now going through an improvement project to extend their life span until 2030, after which they will be gradually phased out.

“In order to respond to modern threats, for which response times are getting shorter and shorter, it is essential to have special units,” State Secretary for Defense Christophe Van der Maat (VVD/Renew) wrote in a letter to parliament.

“With this new equipment, we are competing internationally at the highest level,” he added.

The purchase seeks to transform a Dutch Defence Helicopter Command (DHC) unit into a Special Operations Force (SOF), a press release by the Defence Ministry states.

The helicopters are estimated to cost between €1 billion to €2.5 billion.

The move comes at a time when the Netherlands aims to lead the push for a more proactive and self-reliant approach to defence in the European Union, while still upholding cooperation within multilateral defence frameworks, such as NATO.

Van der Maat told De Telegraaf that the purchase is “important for the Netherlands, but also for NATO”.

Besides the acquisition of the H225 Caracal, State Secretary Van der Maat announced that the country is purchasing new ammunition for its fleet of F-35 fighter jets, which is supposed to help “eliminate hard-to-reach targets” while also merging its projects to substitute its short-and medium-range air defence systems, purchasing both rockets and launch installations from the same provider.

(Benedikt Stöckl | EURACTIV.com)