NVL Group To Build 3 New SIGINT Ships For German Navy

German shipbuilder NVL Group (Naval Vessels Lürssen) today signed a contract with the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) for the construction of three new SIGINT (signals intelligence) and reconnaissance ships for the German Navy. Officially designated as "fleet service ship", they will replace the three in-service Oste-class / Type 423 vessels.

A few days after the approval by the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag, the President of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw), Annette Lehnigk-Emden, and Tim Wagner, CEO of the NVL Group, signed the contract for the construction of the three new fleet service boats for the German Navy. After completion of the joint design phase, this forms the starting signal for the design and construction phase that is now beginning up to the acceptance of the class 424 boats, including a training and reference system.

The three boats, which are identical in construction, represent an indispensable component of national security precautions. As a new construction project, these highly specialized units will be able to meet the high requirements in the entire reconnaissance spectrum for worldwide use in a future-proof manner and guarantee the uninterrupted ability of sea-based signal acquisition reconnaissance for the German Navy.

The design and construction of the boats are based on civil shipbuilding standards and are carried out exclusively in Germany. The contract covers the implementation of the full construction specification of the boats, which was developed in a collaborative effort between the customer and the contractor during the design phase.

The training facility is scheduled to be delivered in 2027, and two years later the first of the three boats will be made available to the German Navy. They will gradually replace the class 423 fleet service boats OKER, ALSTER and OSTE, which have been in service for more than 40 years.