Germany scraps F126 frigate program, pivots to MEKO warships amid cost and contractor chaos

VIENNA — Germany’s Defense Ministry has canceled its troubled F126 frigate program, scrapping plans to build six specialized anti-submarine warships and opting instead to procure eight MEKO A-200 frigates from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, the ministry announced Wednesday.

The decision follows years of delays and cost overruns under Dutch shipbuilder Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding, which was awarded the original contract in 2020 to build six of the 10,550-ton frigates for roughly €10 billion ($11.3 billion). The ministry said Damen had given notice that the ships could not be delivered within the agreed timeline or budget.

The military had been exploring a transfer of the general contractor role to Naval Vessels Lürssen since 2025, the newly Rheinmetall-owned shipbuilding group. But negotiations put the price tag for a Lürssen-led continuation of the F126 program at around €15.2 billion for six ships. When accounting for work already completed under the Damen contract and associated support agreements, the total financial requirement would have exceeded €18 billion.

The ministry said a contractor switch would also have required Berlin to waive potential damage claims against Damen — a condition it was unwilling to accept. The legal review of those claims is ongoing.

The pivot to MEKO frigates had been in the works since at least March, when Defense News reported that Germany was pursuing a “bridge solution” of four MEKO A-200 DEU ships from TKMS to ensure anti-submarine capability ahead of NATO commitment deadlines. At the time, officials said the F126 program was not altogether sunk, and negotiations with Lürssen as a replacement lead contractor were continuing, with Damen expressing interest in remaining “an essential partner.”

Wednesday’s announcement closes that chapter. The German Navy’s top officer has formally blessed the MEKO A-200 DEU as capable of fulfilling Germany’s core submarine-hunting mission and meeting NATO obligations, the ministry said.

Subject to approval by the Bundestag’s budget committee, the first four MEKO frigates would cost approximately €6.3 billion ($7.15 billion), with an option for four additional ships exercisable through end-2026 for roughly €5.3 billion ($6 billion) — a combined total of €11.6 billion ($13.2 billion) for all eight hulls. The ministry attributed the price increase relative to earlier budget estimates primarily to the conversion of an industry cost estimate into a binding TKMS contract offer, with Navy-requested additions accounting for only about 5% of total costs.

The ministry said it intends to submit the requisite approval paperwork to the Budget Committee of the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, as quickly as possible to stay on target for the NATO capability deadline.

Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.

维也纳——德国国防部周三宣布，已取消其陷入困境的F126护卫舰项目，放弃了建造六艘专用反潜战舰的计划，转而选择从蒂森克虏伯海洋系统公司采购八艘MEKO A-200护卫舰。

此前，荷兰造船厂达门斯海尔德海军造船厂（Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding）多年来一直拖延工期并超支成本。该公司于2020年获得建造六艘10550吨级护卫舰的原始合同，合同金额约为100亿欧元（113亿美元）。国防部表示，达门已通知国防部，这些舰艇无法在约定的时间表或预算内交付。

自2025年以来，军方一直在探讨将F126项目的总承包商角色移交给新近被莱茵金属收购的造船集团——吕尔森海军舰艇公司。但谈判结果显示，由吕尔森主导的F126项目后续建造六艘舰艇的造价约为152亿欧元。如果将已根据达门公司合同完成的工作以及相关支持协议计算在内，总资金需求将超过180亿欧元。

该部表示，更换承包商还需柏林方面放弃对达门公司可能提出的损害赔偿要求——柏林方面不愿接受这一条件。目前，对这些索赔的法律审查仍在进行中。

德国转向MEKO护卫舰的计划至少从3月份就开始酝酿了。当时，《防务新闻》报道称，德国正在寻求从TKMS公司采购四艘MEKO A-200 DEU型护卫舰作为“过渡方案”，以确保在北约承诺期限前具备反潜能力。当时，官员们表示F126项目并未完全终止，与Lürssen公司作为替代主承包商的谈判仍在继续，而Damen公司则表示有兴趣继续作为“重要合作伙伴”。

周三的公告标志着这一阶段的结束。德国国防部表示，德国海军最高指挥官已正式批准MEKO A-200 DEU型潜艇能够履行德国的核心反潜任务并满足北约义务。

经德国联邦议院预算委员会批准，首批四艘MEKO护卫舰的造价约为63亿欧元（71.5亿美元），并可选择在2026年底前增建四艘，总造价约为53亿欧元（60亿美元）——八艘舰艇的总造价为116亿欧元（132亿美元）。德国国防部将价格较此前预算估算上涨的主要原因归结于将行业成本估算转化为具有约束力的TKMS合同报价，海军提出的增建项目仅占总成本的约5%。

该部表示，将尽快向德国联邦议院预算委员会提交必要的审批文件，以确保按时完成北约能力建设目标。

林努斯·霍勒是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者和开源情报调查员。他报道影响欧洲乃至全球的军火交易、制裁和地缘政治。他拥有大规模杀伤性武器不扩散、恐怖主义研究和国际关系三个硕士学位，并精通英语、德语、俄语和西班牙语四种语言。