HNLMS De Ruyter performed the Tomahawk proof-of-concept firing off the US East Coast on 11 March. (Dutch MoD)
A Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) De Zeven Provinciën-class air-defence and command frigate (luchtverdedigings en commandofregatten : LCF) has become the first Dutch warship to fire an RGM-109E Tomahawk land attack cruise missile.
HNLMS De Ruyter , which is equipped with the Mk 41 strike length vertical launcher system, performed the proof-of-concept firing off the US East Coast on 11 March. The Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the firing in a statement issued the following day.
The Netherlands in April 2023 revealed its intention to acquire the Raytheon-built Tomahawk Block V missile from the US government to meet its maritime strike requirement, making the RNLN only the second European naval service to introduce Tomahawk into service after the UK Royal Navy. As well as planning to fit the RGM-109E missile to the LCFs and the successor Future Air Defender, the Netherlands is also exploring the integration of the torpedo tube launch variant of Tomahawk on its current Walrus-class submarines and the replacement Orka-class boats.
According to the MoD, the firing from De Ruyter – undertaken with the support of the US Navy to enable the RNLN and the MoD's Materiel and IT Command to gather evidence and inform requirements for full Tomahawk integration – was performed in waters off Norfolk, Virginia. No further information was released on the missile variant or flight profile.
De Ruyter had originally been planned to conduct the Tomahawk proof-of-concept firing in October 2024 on the US Navy's Point Mugu sea range off California. However, the test was later pushed back to the first quarter (Q1) of 2025.
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