United Kingdom Investing in New Amphibious Assault Ships for Joint Fleet with the Netherlands

The UK is investing in a new class of large amphibious assault ships to support commando operations. The stated goal is to form a single, combined fleet with the Netherlands.

This was reported by the UK Defence Journal, citing the UK Ministry of Defense.

These ships are part of a broader program to transform British commando forces into what the ministry calls the Future Commando Force.

Currently, these efforts are focused on the Arctic region and are supported by funding of over 500 million pounds.

New Defense Minister Dan Jarvis, appointed in early June, spent his first two weeks in office reviewing the Defense Investment Plan, refocusing it on equipping frontline units. Landing ships are part of this package, along with new high-speed landing craft and unmanned systems.

“We are investing in new attack drones, high-speed boats, and amphibious assault ships to provide our commandos with the equipment they need to stay ahead of our adversaries and defend ourselves,” he said.

The new ships are intended to restore the capabilities of the amphibious fleet, which has been significantly reduced. The Royal Navy has not had a dedicated amphibious dock landing ship since HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark were decommissioned from the fleet in late 2024 due to crew shortages and technical issues.

Later, in April 2025, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark were sold to Brazil, saving them from being scrapped.

British and Dutch marines have been operating together for over fifty years as part of the UK/NL Amphibious Force. In 2023, the governments of the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding to explore a joint amphibious ship project.

However, in 2024, the idea of a single joint design was abandoned, as both navies concluded that their requirements and budgets differed too greatly to create a single hull.

Following this, efforts were refocused on interoperability and shared subsystems, including landing craft, cranes, dock gates, and power plants.

“Investments in new, larger amphibious assault ships to support British commando operations are aimed at creating a new joint fleet with the Netherlands,” the ministry stated.