The Dutch Ministry of Defence has signed a 10-year agreement with Rhenus to help run the Soesterberg Logistics Centre’s warehouses and improve how equipment is supplied to military personnel.
The center supports daily military activities, training, exercises, and deployments. It operates under the Royal Netherlands Army’s Materiel Logistics Command.
Rhenus will provide warehouse and supply chain management expertise, working alongside defense personnel who define the armed forces’ operational requirements.
The ministry and Rhenus will set shared objectives, exchange information, and jointly review how to improve the service over the contract’s duration.
The logistics center is part of the new Soesterberg Army Base, a construction and refurbishment project that will combine four separate barracks at a single site.
Mark Bours, commander of the Materiel Logistics Command, said the partnership aims to ensure supplies can be delivered reliably as military needs change.
Broader Defense Investments
The logistics agreement comes amid Dutch investment in armored vehicles, aircraft protection, and ground-based air defenses.
In October, the Netherlands agreed to purchase additional CV90 infantry fighting vehicles from BAE Systems Hägglunds to equip a new armored infantry battalion in the army’s 13th (Medium) Brigade.
The 1.3-billion-euro ($1.45-billion) procurement also covers ammunition, communications equipment, spare parts, and maintenance kits.
Separately, the US approved a potential $294-million sale of aircraft defensive equipment to the Netherlands earlier last month.
The proposed sale includes 16 OT-228/U Common Infrared Countermeasure systems to protect against heat-seeking missiles and 38 AN/APR-39E(V)2 radar warning receivers to alert crews to radar threats.
Training, engineering assistance, transportation, and logistics support are also included.
For ground-based air defense, Kongsberg secured a contract worth 1.5 billion Norwegian kroner ($155 million) to expand the Dutch CITADEL program.
The order adds National Maneuver Air Defence Systems (NOMADS) and increases capacity for the country’s existing National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System.
NOMADS combines radar, command-and-control equipment, and missiles on an armored vehicle, providing short-range air defense for ground troops as they move.
