German navy wants stock frigates from TKMS as fallback for troubled F126 warship德国海军希望从TKMS公司采购现成的护卫舰，作为问题重重的F126型护卫舰的替代方案。
Defense officials in Berlin are worried about coming up empty-handed when NATO submarine-hunting capability commitments come due later this decade.
COLOGNE, Germany — The German navy is slated to get four MEKO frigates from local shipyard TKMS as a backup submarine-hunting capability, as the envisioned program of record for F126 specialty ships faces delays.
Defense officials in Berlin portrayed a preliminary contract with the German shipbuilder, approved by lawmakers on Wednesday, as part of “bridge solution” that would ensure the sea service gets urgently needed anti-submarine ships beginning in late 2029, in time to meet NATO commitments.
The plan comes amid mounting questions about a batch of six F126 frigates — previously called MKS-180 — that Germany initially ordered from Dutch shipbuilder Damen in 2020 for a price tag potentially approaching $10 billion.
At the time, the contract award sparked a debate in Germany’s naval-industry circles, with critics arguing the capability was too important to outsource even to a company in the neighboring Netherlands, a close ally.
Damen said it would build the ships in Germany, aiming to have 70% of the contract value go through German vendors.
Construction of the first unit in the class of 10,550-ton frigates started in December 2023, with first steel cutting at the Peene shipyard in Wolgast, Germany, followed by a keel-laying ceremony attended by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in June 2024.
According to the German defense ministry, the plan to order four MEKO A-200 DEU ships does not mean the F126 program is altogether sunk.
Officials have been negotiating with NVL, or Naval Vessels Lürssen, as a new main contractor for the program, according to an agency statement.
The firm, newly acquired by defense giant Rheinmetall, describes itself on its website as an “independent, privately owned group of renowned Northern German shipyards and related companies.”
Damen has signaled it would go along with a German lead, though the Dutch company wants to remain “an essential partner,” it said in its annual earnings statement in October 2025.
Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris contributed to this article.
Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is based in Cologne, Germany.
德国科隆——由于原计划建造的F126特种舰艇面临延误，德国海军计划从当地造船厂TKMS接收四艘MEKO护卫舰作为备用反潜能力。
柏林国防官员将周三经议员批准的与德国造船厂签订的初步合同描述为“过渡方案”的一部分，该方案将确保海军从 2029 年底开始获得急需的反潜舰艇，以便及时履行北约的承诺。
该计划出台之际，人们对德国最初于 2020 年向荷兰造船商达门订购的六艘 F126 护卫舰（前身为 MKS-180）提出了越来越多的疑问，这些护卫舰的造价可能接近 100 亿美元。
当时，这份合同的授予在德国海军工业界引发了一场辩论，批评人士认为这项能力太重要了，即使是外包给邻国荷兰（德国的亲密盟友）的公司也不行。
达门表示将在德国建造这些船舶，目标是使合同金额的 70% 通过德国供应商完成。
10550吨级护卫舰的首艘舰艇于2023年12月开始建造，在德国沃尔加斯特的佩内造船厂进行了首次钢材切割，随后于2024年6月举行了龙骨铺设仪式，德国国防部长鲍里斯·皮斯托里乌斯出席了仪式。
德国国防部表示，订购四艘 MEKO A-200 DEU 舰艇的计划并不意味着 F126 项目彻底失败。
据该机构声明，官员们一直在与 NVL（海军舰艇吕尔森公司）进行谈判，希望他们成为该项目的新主承包商。
这家公司最近被国防巨头莱茵金属公司收购，其网站上称自己是“一家独立的、私营的、由德国北部著名造船厂及相关公司组成的集团”。
达门公司已表示将支持德国主导的战略，但这家荷兰公司希望继续保持“重要合作伙伴”的地位。该公司在2025年10月的年度收益报告中如此表示。
身在巴黎的鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格对本文亦有贡献。
塞巴斯蒂安·斯普伦格是《防务新闻》欧洲版副主编，负责报道该地区的防务市场状况，以及美欧在防务和全球安全领域的合作和多国投资。此前，他曾担任《防务新闻》执行主编。他现居德国科隆。