HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën (F802)

History
Netherlands
Laid down:	1 September 1998
Launched:	8 April 2000
Commissioned:	26 April 2002
General characteristics
Class and type:	De Zeven Provinciën-class frigate
Displacement:	6,050 tonnes (full load)
Length:	144.24 m (473.2 ft)
Beam:	18.8 m (62 ft)
Draft:	5.18 m (17.0 ft)
Propulsion:	Combined diesel and gas 2 × Wärtsilä 16 V26 diesel engines, 4.2 MW (5,600 hp) each 2 × Rolls Royce Spey SM 1C gas turbines, 18.5 MW (24,800 hp) each 4 × Wärtsilä-Deutz D620 V12 diesel-generators, 1,680 kW (2,250 hp) each 2 × propeller shafts, 5-bladed controllable pitch propellers
Speed:	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement:	174 (202 incl. command staff)
Sensors and processing systems:	Thales Nederland SMART-L long-range air and surface surveillance radar Thales Nederland APAR air and surface search, tracking and guidance radar (I band) DECCA NAV navigation radar Thales Nederland Scout (Low Probability of Intercept)surface search/navigation radar Thales Nederland Sirius IRST long-range infrared surveillance and tracking system Thales Nederland Mirador optical surveillance and tracking system Atlas Elektronik DSQS-24C hull-mounted sonar MK XII IFF system
Electronic warfare & decoys:	Thales Sabre ECM suite
Armament:	Guns: 1 × Oto Melara 127 mm/54 dual-purpose gun 2-4 × Browning M2 12.7mm machine guns 4-6 × FN MAG 7.62mm machine guns 1-2 × Goalkeeper CIWS Missiles: 40-cell Mk.41 vertical launch system 32 × SM-2 IIIA surface-to-air missiles 32 × Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (quadpacked) 8 × Harpoon anti-ship missiles 2 × twin MK32 Mod 9 torpedo launchers with Raytheon MK46 Mod 5 torpedoes
Aircraft carried:	1 × NH-90 helicopter

HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën (F802) is the first ship of the De Zeven Provinciën-class air defence and command frigates in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN). There are three other ships in this class, HNLMS Tromp (F803), HNLMS De Ruyter (F804), and HNLMS Evertsen (F805).

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 Provinciën's commanding officer.

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 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) 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. As related by Jane's Navy International:

During the tracking and missile-firing tests, target profiles were provided by Greek-built EADS/3Sigma Iris PVK medium-range subsonic target drones. [...] According to the RNLN, ... "APAR immediately acquired the missile and maintained track until destruction". [...] These ground-breaking tests represented the world's first live verification of the ICWI technique.

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Wikipedia