Paris: Germany will buy four more submarines from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems to increase the number of boats to six, part of a joint purchase with Norway that may also see the Nordic country increase its order, according to the German defence ministry.
Norway plans to buy an additional two submarines on top of four already ordered, the Bundeswehr procurement office said in a statement. The two countries in 2021 had announced plans to jointly buy six 212 Common Design submarines from ThyssenKrupp in a deal worth about €5.5 billion (US$5.7 billion).
Germany announced the submarine contract extension as part of €21 billion in defence spending approved by the Bundestag, the country’s parliament. Other approvals including the go-ahead for the F127 anti-air warfare frigate, Elbit Systems’ PULS rocket artillery, missiles for the Patriot air-defence system, reactive armour for the Puma infantry fighting vehicle and the development of sea-to-air missiles.
“The cooperation with our Norwegian partner will provide our two armed forces with new opportunities for deployment in the context of national and alliance defence, particularly on NATO’s northern flank,” Annette Lehnigk-Emden, the head of the Bundeswehr procurement office, said in the statement.
The 212CD submarine will have a length of about 74 metres and a beam of 10 metres, and displace around 2,500 tons when surfaced. The vessel is based on the 212A submarine in service with the German Navy, which has a length of around 58 metres and a displacement of 1,500 tons.
Advance payments related to the 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 for the submarine program with the construction of a new shipbuilding hall. ThyssenKrupp also acquired additional shipyard capacity at the former site of MV Werften in Wismar to build submarines and surface vessels.
Raksha Anirveda's editorial desk team brings in the collective experience of creative professionals - a fine mix of senior copy editors, writers, proofreaders and designers. Working as a team, they continuously create, manage, and curate content to sustain the magazine's profile and reputation in line with market trends and achieve magazine's goal.
