The Royal Dutch Navy will continue thinning its ranks of excess warships in the next few years as a result of several major transfers. In July 2005, the Netherlands announced the sale to Belgium of the two 3,300-ton (full load) Karel Dorman-class frigates Van Amstel and Van Ness. These warships are barely more than a decade old, having entered service in the 1990s. Armed with Harpoon anti-ship missiles and vertically-launched NATO Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missiles, the frigates have at least a dozen years of service life remaining, and can be expected to serve Belgium well into the future. Although no official transfer dates have been announced, these capable warships are expected to replace Belgium's two remaining Wielingen-class frigates, Wielingen and Westdiep, which are now nearly thirty years old.
Capitalizing on the downsizing of the Dutch fleet, Latvia has agreed to purchase five recently decommissioned Alkmaar-class mine countermeasure ships from the Netherlands. In a deal costing 57 million Euros, the mine hunters Alkmaar, Delfzijl, Dordrecht, Harlingen, and Scheveningen are to be overhauled and transferred to Latvia between 2006 and 2008. It is expected that they will replace several aging mine countermeasures craft now in Latvian service, including the ex-German type 331B mine hunter Nemjes and ex-German Kondor II-class minesweepers Viesturs and Imanta. Ten of the Alkmaar-class are expected to undergo modernization and will likely remain in Dutch service for at least another decade.
In July 2005, the Indian Navy welcomed INS Beas, its third improved Godavari-class (Project 16A) frigate into service. Beas joins sisters Bramaputra and Betwa, both in operational service. Built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers in Calcutta, India, the 4,500 ton (full load) frigates carry 16 Kh-35 Uran surface-to-surface missiles. Surface-to-air missile armament consists of the Barak vertical-launch point-defense missile system. The class also has provisions for the Trishul surface-to-air missile system. A single Sea King anti-submarine or Cheetak helicopter can often be seen aboard. In addition to the Project 16A class, India has several other advanced frigate programs underway; these include the Talwar-class under construction in Saint Petersburg, Russia and the Shivalik-class (Project 17) being built at Mazagon Dockyard in Mumbai.