A new Concept Development & Evaluation (CD&E) program will integrate the Hornet B2 interceptor with Royal Netherlands Navy warships and develop the system toward a possible initial operating capability.
Naval air defence faces an increasingly challenging cost equation as low-cost aerial threats can arrive in large numbers. While high-end naval air-defence missiles remain essential, fleets also require an additional interceptor layer that can be deployed in greater quantities and matched more closely to the cost and scale of the threat.
The Netherlands Ministry of Defence and Destinus are working to develop this additional layer with the Hornet B2. The Ministry of Defence’s Materiel and IT Command, COMMIT, has signed a contract with Destinus to launch a CD&E program for a kinetic counter-UAS capability for the Royal Netherlands Navy.
The program includes delivery of Hornet B2 interceptor systems, integration with several Royal Netherlands Navy warships and Integrated Logistics Support activities toward a possible initial operating capability. The CD&E program is scheduled for completion in Q2 2027.
A Different Approach to Naval Interception
Hornet B2 uses an architecture that differs from a traditional interceptor missile. The system is stored in a sealed canister and launched using a rocket booster. After launch, it deploys folding wings and transitions to electric-powered cruise flight.
This configuration combines missile-class launch readiness with aircraft-class range and endurance, while targeting a lower cost per engagement than traditional interceptor missiles.
Hornet B2 is designed to engage one-way attack systems using electro-optical and infrared sensing, supported by AI-based processing during the terminal phase. Engagement decisions remain under human command in accordance with applicable rules of engagement.
Its predecessor, Hornet B1, is already in serial production.
Built with Operators from the Start
Royal Netherlands Navy operators will be directly involved throughout the CD&E program. They will contribute operational expertise and help shape capability requirements and system specifications as Hornet B2 is developed for the naval environment.
For naval systems, the interceptor represents only one part of the overall capability. Ship integration, logistics, operator requirements, support and operating procedures must work together. Incorporating these requirements from the beginning of development is intended to reduce the need to adapt a completed system after development.
“Low-cost aerial threats have inverted the economics of naval air defence: no navy can sustainably trade multimillion-euro missiles against low-cost threats arriving at volume. Hornet B2 answers this with a different architecture: launched from a canister like a missile, cruising on electric power like an aircraft, and engaging subsonic threats at a fraction of the cost per engagement. Developing this capability together with COMMIT and the Royal Netherlands Navy from day one means it will be shaped by the operators who will depend on it,” said Mikhail Kokorich, CEO of Destinus.
