The Royal Netherlands Navy will equip its future Orka-class submarine fleet with the French F21 Mk2 heavyweight torpedo, abandoning an earlier plan to reuse the US-made Mk48 from the current Walrus-class boats.
According to the Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD), the decision followed an assessment that an accelerated replacement of the Mk48 was feasible.
It also underscores closer cooperation with France, which operates the same weapon system, facilitating the exchange of expertise.
“The new submarines must operate within the highest spectrum of violence. Due to rapid technological developments, the Ministry of Defence anticipates a threat from (un)manned enemy systems equipped with anti-torpedo weapons,” the MoD stated.
“To combat these with high precision, an advanced heavyweight torpedo such as the F21 MK2 is required. The supplier of this weapon system is the French Naval Group, which also builds the boats.”
F21 Mk2 Torpedo
Commissioned in 2019, the F21 — developed by Naval Group — uses fiber-optic wire guidance, allowing higher data bandwidth and improved resistance to interference compared with the Mk48’s copper wire guidance link.
Powered by an electric propulsion system, the F21 also has a significantly lower acoustic signature than the Mk48, which relies on a combustion engine.
The 1.5-ton torpedo is designed to engage enemy ships and submarines in both deep-sea and littoral environments. It can reach speeds of up to 50 knots (93 kilometers/58 miles per hour) and uses onboard intelligence to maneuver in complex underwater conditions.
The weapon has a range of 31 nautical miles (57 kilometers/35 miles) and an operational depth of 10 to 500 meters (33 to 1,630 feet).
Orka Program
The Netherlands ordered four Orka-class submarines in 2024 for around 4 billion euros ($4.65 billion) to replace the aging four-boat Walrus-class submarine fleet, with the first vessel scheduled for delivery in 2033.
The Orka-class is derived from the Barracuda-class submarine family developed by Naval Group. It marks the first Dutch submarine program to be built at a foreign shipyard.
The diesel-electric submarine will have a displacement of about 3,300 tons, with a length of 82 meters (269 feet), and a beam of 8.2 meters (27 feet).
In addition to heavyweight torpedoes, the vessels will also be armed with land-attack cruise missiles.
