Germany Doubles MEKO Frigate Order, Adds New Naval Base in Emden

The German government decided to double from four to eight the number of MEKO A-200 DEU frigates being built by TKMS and announced the creation of a new naval base in the port of Emden, on the North Sea. Both measures aim to strengthen the capability of the German Navy in response to increased Russian naval activity in the region.

The Bundestag's Budget Committee approved the construction contract on October 8, enabling the exercise of the option for the four additional frigates, the Ministry of Defense reported. The A-200 DEU program replaces the canceled F-126 program of the Niedersachsen class, which had suffered delays. All eight units will be built in Germany by TKMS, at shipyards in Hamburg according to Maritime Executive, while Porto e Navios places production in Kiel and Wismar, as well as Itajaí, Brazil. According to Maritime Executive, the combined cost of the eight units is around $13 billion, compared to a projection of up to $21 billion that the F-126 program would have had with six ships.

Saab will provide the sensor and combat management systems, Kongsberg will supply the Naval Strike Missile, and Atlas Elektronik will build the towed sonar for submarine hunting, according to Maritime Executive. Both Baird Maritime and Porto e Navios noted that delivery of the first ship is expected by the end of 2029, with the remaining units to be delivered in rapid succession. TKMS CEO Oliver Burkhard stated that the company made advance investments in the A-200 DEU together with its partners to sustain agile series production.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced at a press conference in Emden the construction of the new naval station, located just a few kilometers from the border with the Netherlands. According to Maritime Executive, the German Navy has had no established presence in Emden since the 1990s, and the new base will offer a strategic alternative to Wilhelmshaven, its main frigate base, located about 35 miles to the east. Baird Maritime specified that the Ministry of Defense reached a basic agreement with the state of Lower Saxony, the Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks (BImA) and the city, although the formal steps to acquire the land are still pending, and that up to 2,000 service posts are being evaluated, with distribution, timeline, cost and the ships to be based there not yet defined.

Pistorius stressed that the measure will strengthen Germany's and NATO's deterrence capability, and noted that the German Navy currently has the smallest fleet in its history despite having the broadest portfolio of tasks, which, in his words, means it must grow. Maritime Executive linked these decisions to the concern among NATO's European members over the increase in Russian naval activity near critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic, the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the Barents Sea.