Amid construction delays and rising costs Germany has decided to cancel its six-ship F126 frigate programme and buy up to eight MEKO A-200s instead.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius made the announcement yesterday (Wednesday), blaming significant project delays which meant that the original F126 prime contractor Damen Naval had been unable to meet the scheduled production timetable.
The original plan had been for delivery of the first ship with initial operational capability to the German Navy by mid-2028 and all six frigates available by 2033.
The MoD had looked into whether Rheinmetall’s Naval Division (formerly Naval Vessels Lürssen) could take over the programme but concluded it would involve “enormous cost increases, and incalculable risks.”
Instead, as per a German Navy press statement: “As a replacement for the six F126 frigates, the German Navy is slated to receive a total of eight MEKO A-200 DEU frigates.
“These ships would enable the Navy to fulfill its core mission of anti-submarine warfare and meet its NATO obligations, according to the Inspector of the Navy, Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaack.
“The Ministry therefore intends to submit the basis for a decision on the purchase of the MEKO A-200 DEU frigates to the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag as soon as possible.”
V Adm Kaack added: “We need steel in the water, fast and precisely specialized for anti-submarine warfare. With the MEKO A-200 frigate class, the navy would receive powerful ships with which we could fulfill our mission.”
In March the German government’s Budget Committee approved the extension of a preliminary agreement to buy four of the TKMS-produced warships, with the first ship to be delivered as soon as 2029.
As per the German Navy statement the first four MEKO A-200 DEU frigates will cost about €6.3 billion, subject to Budget Committee approval; an option for four more ships could be exercised by the end of this year for an additional €5.3 billion.
The cumulative €11.6 billion bill still contrasts favourably with the estimated €18 billion price tag for six F126 frigates.
The MEKO A-200 ships are 121m long, and displace just under 4,000 tonnes. They can sail at up to 29 knots and have a range of more than 6,500 nautical miles. They can each accommodate two light or one medium-sized helicopter, plus two uncrewed aerial systems (UAS).
They also feature a side launch-and-recovery system (LARS) for their two 8m rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs).
The F126 programme had been conceived as a replacement for Germany’s four Baden-Württemberg-class frigates commissioned between 2019 and 2022 and now in active service with the German Navy.
The MEKO 200 is the base platform for Australia’s seven Anzac-class frigates; Turkiye’s eight Yavuz/Barbaros-class warships; Greece’s four Hydra-class and Portugal’s three Vasco da Gama-class ships. Other variants are also in use with Algeria, Egypt, South Africa and New Zealand.
- You can read more details about the decision on the German Navy website