Netherlands Armed Forces
The Netherlands Armed Forces (Dutch: Nederlandse krijgsmacht) are the military services of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The core of the armed forces consists of the four service branches: the Royal Netherlands Navy (Koninklijke Marine), the Royal Netherlands Army (Koninklijke Landmacht), the Royal Netherlands Air Force (Koninklijke Luchtmacht) and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee (Koninklijke Marechaussee). The service branches are supplemented by various joint support organisations. In addition, local conscript forces exist on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba (AruMil) and Curaçao (CurMil). These operate under the auspices of the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Netherlands Marine Corps. The armed forces are organisationally part of the Ministry of Defence.
| Netherlands Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Nederlandse krijgsmacht | |
Logos of the Netherlands Armed Forces | |
| Founded | 1572 |
| Service branches | |
| Headquarters | Ministry of Defence, The Hague |
| Website | defensie.nl |
| Leadership | |
| Supreme Command | The Government |
| Minister of Defence | Kajsa Ollongren |
| State Secretary of Defence | Christophe van der Maat |
| Chief of Defence | GEN Onno Eichelsheim |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 17 |
| Conscription | Inactive since 1996 |
| Active personnel | 41,380 (1 September 2023) |
| Reserve personnel | 6,763 (1 September 2023) |
| Expenditures | |
| Budget | €21.4 billion (2024) (ranked 19th) |
| Percent of GDP | 1.95% (2024) |
| Industry | |
| Domestic suppliers | |
| Foreign suppliers | |
| Related articles | |
| History | Military history of the Netherlands |
| Ranks | Military ranks of the Netherlands |
The existence of, authority over, and tasks of the armed forces are determined in the constitution of the Netherlands. The Government, which consists of cabinet members led by the Prime Minister and the King, functions as the head of the armed forces. Although service members swear allegiance to the King of the Netherlands, the monarch does not hold the position of commander-in-chief, nor any other formal rank.
The military ranks of the Netherlands armed forces are similar to those of fellow NATO member states and were established by Royal Decree. The highest-ranking officer in the Dutch military is the Chief of Defence, who is a four-star officer (NATO OF-9).
After initial cooperation with the German army in 1995 through a Münster-located corps and increasing cross-linking during the following decades, all three Royal Netherlands Army combat brigades have fully integrated into German divisions as of March 2023.