ATS-class amphibious warfare ship

Early artist impression
Class overview
NameAmphibious Transport Ship (ATS)
BuildersDamen Group
Operators
Preceded by
In commission2032 onwards
Planned8[2]
General characteristics
TypeAmphibious transport dock
Displacement15,000 tonnes[1]
Length160 m (524 ft 11 in)
Complement~ 60 crew[1]
Aviation facilitiesCH-47 capable flight deck and hangar[1]
NotesFloodable dock at the stern to launch / recover landing craft[1]

The Amphibious Transport Ship (ATS) was originally an initiative by the Dutch Navy to procure a series of six amphibious warfare ships as a replacement for the Rotterdam class and Holland class.[3] In 2026, the program was revised to incorporate a joint approach with the United Kingdom envisaging the procurement of four ships for the Royal Netherlands Navy and four for the Royal Navy.

History

In the 2022 Defence spending bill it was announced that at the end of their life cycle the two Rotterdam-class ships will be replaced together with the four ships of the Holland-class to form a new class of 'cross-over' ships with patrol-, amphibious- & emergency relief capabilities in mind.[4]

As of March 2024, this program is still in early development. More details were to be released in the B-letter, which had been expected in 2025. With the D-letter following in 2027, after which contract signing will take place. The first ship had been planned to be in service by 2032, with the next five being commissioned with one year intervals.[3] The intended builder was announced to be the Damen Group.[5]

UK-Dutch cooperation

In June 2023, the Netherlands and British governments announced that the two countries would "explore opportunities" to jointly develop new specialist amphibious warships.[6][7]

However, in March 2024, this effort was reportedly abandoned as the two countries identified that their requirements and budgets were too different for a single design. Instead they would focus on Anglo-Dutch coordination on subsystems, landing craft, and aviation, with the British continuing with their Multi Role Strike Ship programme. One key difference was the ships' ability to operate independently without an escort. This was a British preference which would require more substantial self-defence capability.[8][9][10][11]

In June 2026 the British Government's defence investment plan announced the cancellation of the Multi-Role Strike Ships (considered too complicated and costly) and the acquisition of the amphibious transport ships (ATS), built and operated in cooperation with the Netherlands, instead.[12][13][14] The following month, it was announced that the UK and the Netherlands signed a £2.4 billion agreement to jointly build a class of eight ATS, with each nation procuring four vessels.[15][16] The ATS will have a length of 160 meters and a displacement of 15,000 tonnes.[17]

Ships

Name No. Builder Status Contract Laid down Launched Comm. Notes
 Royal Netherlands Navy - 4 planned
TBA TBA Damen Shipyards Galați

Damen Schelde,

 Planned - - - [18]
TBA TBA Planned - - -
TBA TBA Planned - - -
TBA TBA Planned - - -
 Royal Navy - 4 planned
TBA TBA British shipyard (TBA)[19] Planned - - - [18]
TBA TBA Planned - - -
TBA TBA Planned - - -
TBA TBA Planned - - -
  Planned dates

See also

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "UK/Netherlands navies partnership with eight next-generation amphibious transport ships". 11 July 2026.
  2. ↑ Thomas Newdick (8 July 2026). "UK And Dutch Partner On Next-Gen Amphibious Assault Ships". The War Zone.
  3. 1 2 van der Maat, Christophe (6 March 2024). "A-brief project 'Verwerving Amfibische Transportschepen'" (in Dutch). Ministry of Defence.
  4. ↑ Karremann, Jaime (1 June 2024). "Defensienota: marine wordt iets kleiner en koerswijziging amfibische schepen" (in Dutch). Marineschepen.nl. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  5. ↑ "Scheepsbouwer Damen wederom betrokken bij order voor nieuwe marineschepen" (in Dutch). Nu.nl. 6 March 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  6. ↑ "UK and Netherlands to explore opportunities around new ships for amphibious operations". Royal Navy. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  7. ↑ "Multi Role Strike Ships – the future of Royal Navy amphibious capability". Navy Lookout. 4 September 2023.
  8. ↑ Scott, Richard (12 March 2024). "Netherlands outlines national route for new amphibious transport ship class". Janes. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  9. ↑ Karremann, Jaime (9 April 2024). "Amfibische Transportschepen krijgen mogelijk doorlopend dek" (in Dutch). Marineschepen.nl. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  10. ↑ "Royal Navy's Multi Role Support Ship programme to go ahead". Navy Lookout. 14 May 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  11. ↑ Scott, Richard (27 June 2024). "UK sets its course for MRSS programme". Naval News. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  12. ↑ George Allison (28 June 2026). "UK commits to new assault ships in joint effort with Dutch". UK Defence Journal.
  13. ↑ "Royal Navy downsizes its assault ship ambitions". Navy Lookout. 29 June 2026.
  14. ↑ Jaime Karremann (28 June 2026). "Samenwerking Britten toekomstige amfibische schepen krijgt nieuwe impuls". Marineschepen.nl (in Dutch).
  15. ↑ "UK and Netherlands Sign £2.4 Billion Deal for Next-Gen Amphibious Ships". Naval News. 7 July 2026.
  16. ↑ Fatima Bahtić (8 July 2026). "UK, Netherlands sign £2.4B deal for next-generation amphibious transport ships". Naval Today.
  17. ↑ "Four amphibious vessels to be built for the Royal Navy based on Dutch design". Navy Lookout. 7 July 2026.
  18. 1 2 Staff, Naval News (2026-07-07). "UK and Netherlands Sign £2.4 Billion Deal for Next-Gen Amphibious Ships". Naval News. Retrieved 2026-07-11.
  19. ↑ Allison, George (2026-07-07). "Navantia pitches Belfast to build UK amphibious ships". Retrieved 2026-07-11.

Further reading

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