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 Scandinavian country increase its order, the German Defense Ministry said.
Norway plans to buy two additional submarines on top of the four already ordered, the Bundeswehr’s purchasing office said in a statement statement on Thursday. The two countries had announced plans in 2021 to jointly purchase six 212 Common Design submarines from ThyssenKrupp in a deal worth around €5.5 billion (US$5.7 billion).
Germany announced the extension of the submarine contract as part of 21 billion euros in defense spending approved on Wednesday by the Bundestag, the country’s parliament. Other approvals include the go-ahead for the F127 anti-aircraft frigate, Elbit Systems’ PULS rocket artillery, missiles for the Patriot air defense system, reactive armor 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 defense, especially on NATO’s northern flank,” Annette Lehnigk-Emden, head of the Bundeswehr procurement office, said in the statement .
The 212CD submarines for Germany and Norway are on schedule, ThyssenKrupp said in a statement separate statement. The yard started production in September 2023 and the six ships for the German Navy will be delivered from 2032, with one boat per year until 2037. The Norwegian Navy is expected to receive its first submarine in the new class as early as 2029 .
The 212CD submarine will have a length of approximately 74 meters and a width of 10 meters, and will displace approximately 2,500 tons when it surfaces. The ship 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.
Prepayments related to the order expansion will have a positive impact on cash flow in the current financial year, ThyssenKrupp said.
The company says it has invested more than €250 million at its site in Kiel, Germany, to expand production capacity for the submarine program with the construction of a new shipbuilding hall. ThyssenKrupp also acquired additional shipyard capacity at the former MV Werften site in Wismar to build submarines and surface ships.
“With the expansion of the 212CD order, other countries could join this project in the near future,” Oliver Burkhard, CEO of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, said in a statement. “Our strong position has now become even stronger.”
The close cooperation with Norway will enable synergy in operations, logistics and maintenance, which should increase operational availability and reduce costs, the Defense Ministry’s procurement office said.
ThyssenKrupp had offered an expedition variant of the 212CD, with an increased length of more than 80 meters and a displacement of more than 3,000 tons, as a candidate for a submarine tender by the Netherlands. The Dutch awarded the contract in March 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 spending approved by the Bundestag, Rheinmetall, together with partner blackned GmbH, has secured an order for IT systems integration worth approximately €1.2 billion over ten years, the company said in a separate statement. The order is part of a Bundeswehr program to digitalise land operations, with Rheinmetall accounting for around €730 million of the contract volume, and the remaining €470 million for blackned.
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 equip around 10,000 Bundeswehr vehicles with digital radio equipment. Each company will account for half of the order value, with work starting in mid-2025 and equipment conversion completed by the end of 2030, KNDS said in a statement.
“The new technology will fundamentally increase the command and control capabilities of army units and improve interoperability within the Bundeswehr and with NATO allies,” Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall, said in the statement.
