HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën (F802)
Template:Short description Template:Other ships
Template:Infobox ship imageTemplate:Infobox ship careerTemplate:Infobox ship characteristicsHNLMS De Zeven Provinciën (F802) is the first ship of the Template:Sclass air defence and command frigates in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN). There are three other ships in this class, Template:HNLMS, Template:HNLMS, and Template:HNLMS. De Zeven Provinciën is the eighth ship in the Royal Netherlands Navy to carry this name. The name refers to the original seven Dutch provinces which together formed the Union of Utrecht.
She was built by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (formerly the Koninklijke Schelde Groep) in Vlissingen. Her design incorporates stealth technology, as well as advanced radars of Dutch design such as SMART-L and APAR.
As of December 2009, Commander Hugo L.J. Ammerlaan is De Zeven ProvinciënTemplate:'s commanding officer.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Operational history
On 21 March 2006, the container ship Template:MV suffered a major explosion and massive fire in the aft on-deck container stacks. When efforts to control the fire failed, the crew abandoned ship and were picked up by De Zeven Provinciën.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On 4 April 2006, De Zeven Provinciën along with the destroyer Template:USS responded to MV Dong Won which reported that it had come under rocket attack off the coast of Somalia. However, the pirates had already hijacked the vessel and reached Somali territorial waters after threatening the captured crew. De Zeven Provinciën and Roosevelt continued to monitor the situation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On 29 March 2009, as De Zeven Provinciën was part of Operation Atalanta, the German Navy tanker Template:Ship was attacked by 7-man pirate boat. Spessart had a 12-man security detail which exchanged fire with the pirates which repelled the attack. De Zeven Provinciën along with the Template:Ship, Template:Ship, Template:Ship, and Template:USS intervened. The pirates were later captured after a chase lasting a few hours.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
De Zeven Provinciën provided security during the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> That same year the ship also took part in exercises and performed tests in relation to its weapon systems.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
De Zeven Provinciën participated in Exercise Formidable Shield 2021. During the exercise, she fired two RIM-162 ESSM<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and assisted Template:USS in intercepting a ballistic missile using its SMART-L radar.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref>
Between March–July 2022, De Zeven Provinciën was part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1. She had port calls in Tallinn and Devonport.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On 9 October 2022, De Zeven Provinciën along with Template:HNLMS deployed to conduct drills with the aircraft carrier Template:USS.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Live missile firings
De Zeven Provinciën carries the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) and the SM-2 Block IIIA missile systems. The primary sensor used to guide these missile systems is APAR.
In November 2003, approximately Template:Convert from the Azores, De Zeven Provinciën conducted her first live firings of these missile systems. The firings involved a single ESSM and a single SM-2. These firings were particularly significant in that they were the first ever live firings involving a full-size ship-borne Active Electronically Scanned Array (i.e., APAR) guiding missiles using the Interrupted Continuous Wave Illumination (ICWI) technique in an operational environment.<ref name="Janes IDR">Jane's International Defence Review, February 2004, "Active phased array multifunction radars go live for missile firings"</ref> As related by Jane's Navy International:
Further live firings were performed by De Zeven Provinciën in March 2005, again in the Atlantic Ocean approximately Template:Convert west of the Azores.<ref name="JNI" /> The tests involved three live-firing events including firing a single SM-2 at an Iris target drone at long range, a single ESSM at an Iris target drone, and a two-salvo launch (with one salvo comprising two SM-2s and the other comprising two ESSMs) against two incoming Iris target drones.<ref name="JNI" /> The long-range SM-2 engagement apparently resulted in an intercept at a range of greater than Template:Convert from the ship, with a missile-target miss distance of Template:Convert (the warhead's proximity fuze having been disabled for the purposes of the test).<ref name="JNI" />
On 24 October 2015 De Zeven Provinciën performed maritime integrated air and missile defense during a At Sea Demonstration (ASD).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In May, 2021 during At Sea Demonstration/Formidable Shield 2021 De Zeven Provinciën detected and tracked a ballistic missile with SMART-L radar and relayed the target information to Template:USS.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Template:Sclass intercepted and destroyed the ballistic missile with SM-3 surface-to-air missile.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref> During the exercise it also performed a Plot Level Data Exchange and Fusion (PLDEF) with the French frigate Forbin.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Gallery
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De Zeven Provinciën at the North Sea during the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit -
De Zeven Provinciën helps Template:MV on 3 March 2006. -
De Zeven Provinciën fires an SM-2 -
De Zeven Provinciën crossing the Thames Barrier in London
References
External links
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