France’s Naval Group and Dutch company RH Marine signed a contract on 25 September 2025 supporting the construction of the new Orka-class submarines for the Royal Netherlands Navy. The partnership marks a significant milestone in the implementation of the Replacement of the Netherlands Submarine Capability (RNSC) programme, which Naval Group was contracted to deliver in September 2024.
Under the contract RH Marine will contribute its expertise in platform automation, power distribution and integrated system solutions to the RNSC programme. Backed by decades of experience in co-operating with the Royal Netherlands Navy, RH Marine will thus “play a key role in ensuring operational excellence and long-term support for the four new Orka-class conventionally propelled submarines”, Naval Group stated in a press release.
The partnership strengthens the foundation for long-term Dutch autonomy in submarine maintenance and future upgrades, while fostering deeper co-operation and knowledge-sharing between the Dutch and French naval industries. A growing network of Dutch companies are contributing to the RNSC programme in areas such as hydraulics, energy management, acoustic cladding, composite structures, detection systems and filtration. Working together in this way allows Naval Group to manufacture state-of-the-art submarines to meet the needs of the Royal Netherlands Navy and is in line with the 2024 Industrial Cooperation Agreement (ICA) signed in September 2024 with the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.
“We highly value the expertise and innovation of RH Marine and look forward to working together to deliver the four new Orka-class submarines to the Royal Netherlands Navy,” Mark Donderwinkel, Country Director Netherlands of Naval Group, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “Strong Dutch industrial involvement is essential to the success of this programme and confirms the importance of sustainable industrial cooperation within Europe.”
“This contract not only strengthens our partnership with Naval Group, but also reflects our joint ambition to support the Royal Netherlands Navy with innovative and future-proof solutions,” added Koen Staffeleu, Business Unit General Manager Naval of RH Marine. “It confirms RH Marine’s role as a trusted partner within the Dutch naval ecosystem.”
Under the RNSC programme Naval Group will deliver four Orka-class submarines, which will be diesel-electric variants of the company Barracuda-class submarine design, to replace the Royal Netherlands Navy’s current Walrus-class submarines.
