Mr Francken said that while discussions with the Dutch Government are ongoing, Belgium will launch a request for information addressed to naval shipbuilders in other European countries that could potentially satisfy the requirements of the ASWF programme.
Earlier this month, Mr Francken told members of Belgium’s lower house that the programme is beset with technical and design-related problems.
“The margins of the original hull design ultimately proved insufficient, which led to a design crisis,” the minister said in a meeting with the lower house’s national defence committee on July 1. “In…2026, a new, larger design was proposed, which, however, entails additional costs and further delays.