Uncrewed Systems Take Center Stage in Dutch Navy Trials
On each side of a target ship off the coast of Den Helder, two black vessels—Defender 1 and Defender 2—maintain a watchful distance. These are the eyes and ears of the Royal Netherlands Navy, but they have no crew onboard; their paths are controlled entirely by a computer system. This marks the future of naval operations, according to Capt Sjoerd Feenstra, head of the expertise centre for unmanned systems, who is leading a five-week mission to test the limits of uncrewed technology.
“For the last year and a half we’ve been working to change our organisation,” Feenstra said. “In about 10 years there will be crewed platforms surrounded by a ring of uncrewed systems operating as autonomously as possible.”
Global Shift Toward Uncrewed Military Technology
Underwater vehicles, boats, and drones—all uncrewed—are expected to play a key role in future armed forces worldwide. The latest Dutch military budget aims to use uncrewed systems for more than half of its work within five years. The UK, in a similar timeframe, plans to spend over £5 billion on such technology. Drones are already deployed in live conflicts, with their use and capability increasing exponentially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. They have been central to Iranian strikes and the war in the Middle East, while the US Navy deployed unmanned sea vessels this year against Iran.
For the Dutch navy, uncrewed systems are more than a trend. “The goal is to do as many things as possible with unmanned systems to keep people out of danger zones,” Feenstra said. “The work has got a lot more difficult, especially with the amount of information, speed and capacity demanded. And some jobs are unbelievably boring.”
GeoSea Vessel Serves as Testing Hub
Central to the trials is the GeoSea vessel, once used to monitor the seabed around windfarms. It now serves as a base for testing Noa drones—which resemble giant flies—the Defender vessels, and a Lobster Robotics undersea mine mapper. This “system of systems” is designed for modularity, allowing new models to be swapped in as technology advances. On a command to “monitor that ship,” Defender vessels are deployed, two carbon-fibre Noa drones are dispatched, and another drone resembling a huge bat flies overhead.
Technical Risks and Ethical Considerations
Technical failure remains a risk. Artificial intelligence can hallucinate or generate false results, noted software integration lead Ferdinand Peters. “You need to let the system work for you, but not think for you,” he said. “We need to think carefully about where we use it and where we do not.” A machine will not decide to pull the trigger; “a person is always part of the decision-making chain,” Feenstra emphasised.
The ethical question is not new: the Netherlands has used the Goalkeeper air defence system, which can function autonomously, for over 40 years. “What we know from the past is that even when people make the plan or collect the information, something can go wrong,” Feenstra said. “The question is where the culpability will lie if you automate everything.”
Dutch Navy Inspires Allies Amid Labour Shortage
It makes sense for a country with a labour shortage to aim for more autonomy. The Dutch are an inspiration to other nations collaborating on security in the North and Baltic seas, according to naval analyst Lee Willett. “The Dutch punch above their weight,” Willett said. “They are also advancing what they have because they recognise that they are a relatively small navy in an incredibly important part of the world.”
Sidharth Kaushal, senior research fellow for sea power at the Royal United Services Institute, believes the tide has turned toward such systems, partly because they reduce long stretches at sea. “Uncrewed systems don’t completely remove the requirement for manpower—you tend to need more engineers—but they provide a different balance in terms of family life,” he said. “This is the direction of travel.”
