Dutch military chooses U.S., Israeli-made weapons systems – government

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Dutch military will purchase U.S. and Israeli-made weapons systems to improve its long-range firepower on land, sea and air, the government said on Monday.

State Secretary for Defence Chistophe van der Maat announced the decisions, representing at least 600 million euros ($653.04 million) worth of spending over the coming decade, in a letter to parliament.

“The war in Ukraine shows once again that fire support over short, medium and long range is essential,” Van der Maat said in a separate statement on the Defence Ministry’s website.

“With the new systems, the Ministry of Defense is further strengthening NATO’s common combat power and deterrence.”

The army will use the PULS rocket artillery system made by Israel’s Elbit, the navy will use U.S. Tomahawk long range missiles on frigates and submarines, and the air force will use Lockheed Martin’s JASSM extended range missiles on F-35s for air-to-ground targeting, the statement said.

($1 = 0.9188 euros)

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Richard Chang)