The Royal Dutch Navy

Koninklijke Marine

Version 1, 7/11/1999

The Commonwealth is in a relatively peaceful part of space; it thus has far less need for a territorial defence force than do many other nations. Rather, the fleet is geared towards fighting colonial wars and performing convoy escort duties (perhaps unsurprising, given the tremendous importance of shipping to the economy).

The navy is thus divided into three branches; the line branch, which maintains warships suitable for engaging other nations' fleets in open battle, the shipping branch, which maintains warships suitable for escorting and policing merchant shipping, and the support branch, which maintains a variety of minor and non-combatant ships which are available to the other two branches. The Dutch navy has a long and honourable history, and its officers and crews maintain the tradition of excellence.

In addition to the navy, all colony worlds maintain a sublight flotilla as part of the provincial armed forces. These forces are considerably smaller, less well equipped and less well armed than the navy itself (given the relative security of the colony worlds), but are nonetheless are an integral part of the Commonwealth's defence.

Further information:

• Ship designs
• Fleet roster