The Defence Materiel Process (DMP)
The Defence Materiel Process is a set of rules formulated by the Ministry of Defence for the procurement of defence materiel, IT systems and infrastructure for projects costing in excess of €25 million.
The DMP is intended primarily as a means of managing the decision-making process at the Ministry of Defence itself. However, it is also one of the tools that parliament can use in order to have a say in the decision-making process:
The Minister amended the DMP in 2016. The project for the replacement of the F-16 and the acquisition of the JSF is subject to the terms of the pre-2016 version of the DMP.
The five stages of the DMP (before 2016)
The decision-making process for the acquisition of the JSF passes through five distinct stages. Each stage concludes with the publication of a summary document, which the Minister uses as a basis for deciding whether or not to allow the project to proceed to the following stage.
The DMP during the period before 2016
The stages of the DMP:
- analysis of requirements (phase A);
- preliminary study (phase B);
- study (phase C);
- preparations for procurement (phase D) and implementation;
- evaluation (phase E).
The Minister of Defence (or the State Secretary) also writes a letter containing information for parliament at the end of each stage. The Lower House generally discusses the contents of this letter with the Minister (or the State Secretary, as the case may be).
There is an evaluation phase (phase E) for major projects that are regarded as being particularly complex and for projects subject to the Regulations on Major Projects. Not all projects include this phase.
Letters to the Lower House on the project for the replacement of the F-16 and the acquisition of the JSF
To date, the Lower House of the Dutch parliament has received four ‘DMP letters’ in connection with the project for the replacement of the F-16 and the acquisition of the JSF:
- the A letter in 1999;
- the combined B and C letter in 2002;
- the D letter in December 2014.
Amended version of the DMP
The DMP was amended in 2016.
The new-style DMP
The names of the phases have been altered in the new version of the DMP. For example, the term ‘preliminary study’ has been replaced by ‘research’. The main difference between the old and new versions is that the new-style DMP includes a phase C only if it is assumed that the new materiel cannot be bought off-the-shelf, but will have to be specially developed.
The DMP since 2016
As was the case with the old DMP, the new DMP also includes an evaluation stage (phase E) for large, complex projects and for projects covered by the Regulations on Major Projects. Again, not all projects include a phase E.