Belgium Faces Years Without Frigates as Warship Program Hits Delays

(MENAFN) Belgium's naval capabilities face a potentially crippling gap after fresh setbacks to a joint warship procurement program raised the prospect of the country operating without any functional frigates for a sustained period, local media reported Saturday.

Dutch-language newspaper De Morgen reported that Belgium's first replacement vessel is now unlikely to arrive before 2034 — a full seven years behind the program's original schedule.

The delay stems from a broader joint initiative between Belgium and the Netherlands to procure four new anti-submarine warfare frigates from a Dutch shipbuilder. The Dutch Defense Ministry confirmed this week that construction timelines had slipped yet again, compounding earlier setbacks.

The timing poses a serious readiness problem. Belgium currently fields two frigates — the Leopold I and the Louise-Marie — both of which have recently been deployed in NATO operations across the Baltic region and other missions. However, neither vessel is expected to remain serviceable into the mid-2030s, as both are already nearing the outer limits of their operational lifespan.

That overlap — aging ships retiring before replacements arrive — threatens to leave Belgium temporarily stripped of a foundational naval warfare capability, sparking urgent internal deliberations over stopgap measures. Options reportedly under review include repurposing minehunters for expanded roles or leasing frigates as a short-term fix.

The program's financial trajectory has worsened considerably as well. Per-vessel costs, initially projected at €600 million ($696 million), have surged to approximately €1 billion, with an additional €250 million in supplementary expenditure now anticipated on top of that figure.

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