According to a Tweet released by Defence 360° on August 12, 2020, Mid-Life Upgrade of Bartolomeu Dias-class frigate NRP Bartolomeu Dias (F333) of the Portuguese Navy is now scheduled to be completed in early 2021. The ship is undergoing modernization since 30 June 2018 at the Dutch Marine Materiële Instandhouding in Den Helder, The Netherlands.
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Portuguese Navy Bartolomeu Dias-class frigate NRP Bartolomeu Dias F333. (Picture source Twitter account Defence 360°)
In February 2019, The Defense Materiel Organisation (DMO), part of the Dutch Ministry of Defense, has contracted Alewijnse Marine to participate in the mid-life upgrade of N.R.P. Bartolomeu Dias (F333) and N.R.P. Don Francisco de Almeida (F334). Originally built for the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) in the early 1990s, the two Multipurpose (M) frigates were sold to the Portuguese Navy in 2006. The two ships will receive new weapons and communications systems.
The Dia-class frigate is originally a Karel Doorman-class frigate built for the Royal Netherlands Navy. In May 2006, Portugal's National Defense Minister, Luís Amado, showed interest in buying two Karel Doorman class frigates to replace the two remaining frigates of the João Belo-class frigate in service with the Portuguese Navy
On November 1, 2006, the Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Severiano Teixeira signed a contract for the purchase of the frigates Van Nes and Van Galen. Van Nes, renamed NRP Bartolomeu Dias (F333), was transferred to Portugal on January 16, 2009, and Van Galen, renamed NRP Dom Francisco de Almeida (F334) was transferred on January 15, 2010.
The Karel Doorman-class was designed as a multipurpose frigate that could perform a wide range of missions. Its armament reflects this by incorporating many features, such as the ability to engage submarines, aircraft and surface vessels. Besides warfare, the armaments can also be used to support anti-drug and piracy operations.
