Samenvatting

The Dutch Armed forces have seen an enormous change during the last fifteen years. Peace keeping and enforcing have become the major tasks. The amount of troops and equipment has dwindled, so did the yearly budget. The decline of military means is defended by the thesis that quality is more important than quantity. Down-sizing the means did not diminish thebudgetary constraints however. Due to the new missions, ammunition has to be replenished in a higher rate and military means are wearing out quicker than expected and are in need of extra repair.The Dutch Ministers of Finance and Defense, Wouter Bos and Eimert Van Middelkoop, respectively, are debating this years budget for the Armed Forces. Wouter Bos is adversary as to additional financial support to the Netherlands Defence organization, while Eimert VanMiddelkoop, on the other hand, aims to prevent imminent shortages. Should Van Middelkoop fail to obtain the requested financial support, it is expected, a financial gap of 120 million euro swill be the result. Against this background, the main question of our interview is whether many simple, cheap, weapon systems can achieve more than a few complex and expensive weaponsystems? To answer this question, the authors interviewed Colonel Groen. He has a technical background and is the Director Material anagement & Coordination in the Policy Directorate for Materiel of the Defence Materiel Organisation, responsible for preparing and managing the information on defence materiel matters for the National Armaments Director. Next to this his branch provides impartial information and advice on the main armament projects for the NAD, State Secretary and Minister. His answers increased our understanding of the complexity of the renewal of weapon systems.