PARIS – Germany will buy four more submarines from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems to increase the number of boats to six, as part of a joint purchase with Norway that could see the Scandinavian country increase its order, according to the German defense ministry.
Plans of Norway to buy two additional submarines in addition to four already ordered, the Bundeswehr procurement office said in a report Thursday. Both countries in 2021 has announced plans to jointly purchase six Standard Design 212 submarines from ThyssenKrupp in a deal worth approximately €5.5 billion (US$5.7 billion).
Germany announced the submarine contract extension as part of €21 billion in defense spending approved by the Bundestag, the country's parliament, on Wednesday. Other licenses include the license for the F127 anti-aircraft warfare frigate, Elbit Systems PULS rocket artillery, missiles for the Patriot air defense system, reactive munitions for the Puma infantry fighting vehicle and the development of sea-to- air
“The cooperation with our Norwegian partner will provide new opportunities for our two armed forces to be used in the context of national and alliance defense, especially in the northern part of NATO,” said Annette Lehnigk-Emden, head of the Bundeswehr procurement office, in the statement.
The 212CD submarines for Germany and Norway are on schedule, ThyssenKrupp said in a separate statement. The yard began production in September 2023, and the six vessels for the German Navy will be delivered starting in 2032, with one ship per year through 2037. The Norwegian Navy is expected to receive its first submarine in new class as early as 2029.
The 212CD submarine will have a length of approximately 74 meters and a beam of 10 meters, and will displace approximately 2,500 tons when surfaced. The vessel is based on the submarine 212A in service with the German Navy, which has a length of approximately 58 meters and a displacement of 1,500 tons.
Advance payments related to order expansion will have a positive impact on cash flow in the current financial year, ThyssenKrupp said.
The company says it invested more than €250 million at its location in Kiel, Germany, to add production capacity to the submarine program by building a new shipbuilding hall. ThyssenKrupp also acquired additional shipyard capacity at the former MV Werften site in Wismar to build submarines and surface vessels.
“With the extension of the 212CD order, other countries could soon join this project,” ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems CEO Oliver Burkhard said in a statement. “Our strong position has now become even stronger.”
The close cooperation with Norway will allow cooperation in operations, logistics and maintenance, which should increase operational availability and reduce costs, according to the procurement office of the ministry of defense.
ThyssenKrupp had offered a cruise version of the 212CD, with a length of more than 80 meters and a displacement of more than 3,000 tons, as a candidate for a submarine tender with the Netherlands. The Dutch in March awarded the contract to the French Naval Group, which offered a smaller, conventionally powered version of its Barracuda submarine, with a surface displacement of 3,300 tons and a length of 82 meters.
As part of the cost approved by the Bundestag, Rheinmetall together with partner blackned GmbH won an order for IT system integration worth around €1.2 billion over 10 years, the company said in a separate statement. The order is part of the Bundeswehr program to digitize land-based operations, with Rheinmetall accounting for approximately €730 million of the contract size, and the rest of €470 million for blackouts.
As part of the same program, a project company founded by Rheinmetall and KNDS Deutschland won a six-year contract worth around €2 billion to supply digital radio equipment to around 10,000 Bundeswehr vehicles. Each company will account for half of the order's value, with work starting in mid-2025 and equipment conversion completed by the end of 2030, KNDS said in a report.
“The new technology will fundamentally increase the command and control capability of the military units, and improve the interaction within the Bundeswehr and with NATO allies,” Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said in the statement.
