{"id":58953,"date":"2019-05-02T17:58:29","date_gmt":"2019-05-02T17:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/05\/02\/dutch-keep-walrus-submarine-race-going-for-a-bit-longer\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:22:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:22:57","slug":"dutch-keep-walrus-submarine-race-going-for-a-bit-longer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2019\/05\/02\/dutch-keep-walrus-submarine-race-going-for-a-bit-longer\/","title":{"rendered":"Dutch keep Walrus submarine race going for a bit longer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

COLOGNE, Germany \u2014 The Dutch government has postponed a supplier decision to replace its four Walrus submarines, telling parliament that further study of the issue is needed until the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The development, announced in a letter late last month by State Secretary for Defence Barbara Visser, comes as some expected a decision this spring. Government officials now say they need more time to study the competitors\u2019 latest offers related to domestic industry participation in their proposals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The companies vying for the multibillion-dollar Walrus contract are Naval Group of France, Navantia of Spain, Saab\u2019s Kockums of Sweden, and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems of Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The additional study follows attempts by competitors to tweak their proposals in light of a new Dutch defense industry strategy released in November. That document prescribes that the production of maritime platforms remain mostly a national affair, with roughly 25 percent of projects sourced from international collaborations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Netherlands has the ambition to design and produce certain military capabilities itself,\u201d reads a summary of the strategy document. \u201cIn doing so, we will take into account the industries that are already present in the Netherlands as well as the country\u2019s capacity and possible limitations. What does this mean in concrete terms? We want to preserve and strengthen our naval shipbuilding industry, for example.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t