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F126 or ''Niedersachsen''-class frigate (''Fregatte 126'') is a planned German
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
class intended to replace the F123 s in the
German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...
. The ships are to be the largest surface warships to join the German Navy since World War II. The first ship, ''Niedersachsen'', is planned to be commissioned in 2028, with ''Saarland'', ''Bremen'', and ''Thüringen'' to follow. On 8 April 2024, Germany exercised their option and purchased an additional two frigates. The contract for two additional F126 frigates was signed on 19 June 2024. Until 1 January 2021, the project was known under the working title MKS 180 or Multi-Purpose Combat Ship 180 (''Mehrzweckkampfschiff 180''), with 180 indicating the class’s planned complement.


Characteristics

The class is to be mission modular and is capable of accommodating so-called mission modules which include devices, space, sensors and weaponry necessary to carry out a given task optimally. If not in use, the modules can be maintained and replaced separate from the ship and also be exchanged between different ships in the class. The ships are planned to replace the ''Brandenburg'' class in their
anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...
(ASW) role if fitted with a modular
towed array sonar A towed array sonar is a system of hydrophones towed behind a submarine or a surface ship on a cable. Trailing the hydrophones behind the vessel, on a cable that can be kilometers long, keeps the array's sensors away from the ship's own noise sou ...
(the ASW module). Similar to the however, they will also be able to stay at sea for up to two years without requiring maintenance at port, with crews rotating to and from the deployed ship every four months. This capability is expected to allow for a more efficient use of hulls by reducing the time spent during transfer from Germany to conflict zones such as the sea off the
Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
where German ships repeatedly took part in counter-piracy missions such as
Operation Atalanta Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia, is an ongoing counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first naval operation conducted by the ...
, patrolling large areas for a long time. In this case, the "detention module" enables the crew to
detain Detention is the process whereby a state or private citizen holds a person by removing or restricting their freedom or liberty at that time. Detention can be due to (pending) criminal charges against the individual pursuant to a prosecution or ...
suspects and if need be
quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...
them in a purpose-built medical facility. Other intended uses are the enforcement of
embargoes Economic sanctions or embargoes are Commerce, commercial and Finance, financial penalties applied by states or institutions against states, groups, or individuals. Economic sanctions are a form of Coercion (international relations), coercion tha ...
, escorting merchant shipping or commanding maritime task forces. In 2015, modules for
mine countermeasures A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are deposited and left ...
(MCM) and a
diving chamber A diving chamber is a vessel for human occupation, which may have an entrance that can be sealed to hold an internal pressure significantly higher than ambient pressure, a pressurised gas system to control the internal pressure, and a supply of ...
were planned as well.


Project history


Competitive evaluation and design selection

First studies for a class of future surface ships were initiated in 2009. At the time, the goal was to develop a replacement for the 143A ''Gepard''-class fast attack craft. In reference to the five K130-class corvettes which were set to replace the older 143 ''Albatros'' class, the project was termed MÜKE (''Mittlere Überwasserkampfeinheit'') or K131. Eight ships were planned to join the navy by the early 2020s and then be available into the 2050s. The ships were to be mission modular. The Navy, increasingly tasked with conducting long overseas deployments with an aging fleet of ships influenced by
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
requirements, wished to obtain flexible ships that could be rapidly modified depending on need. This design driver, also influencing the ''Baden-Württemberg''-class frigates at the time, caused the projected design to increase in displacement and complement compared to a typical corvette. By early 2011, the project was therefore expected to result in a "Multi-Role Combat Ship" (''Mehrzweckkampfschiff''). On 25 March 2013, the detailed requirements were formally decided on. During the following analysis phase, three designs were suggested, one fulfilling all requirements and two other less expensive ones fulfilling them partially. On 8 June 2015, the fully compliant design was selected. By 2015 the number of ships had been cut to four with the first hull entering service by 2023 at a planned total cost of around 4 billion Euros and two more ships in a potential second batch. Crucially, the MKS 180 project had now grown to be the replacement for the four aging F123 ''Brandenburg''-class frigates, representing the Navy's primary ASW capability. The 2015 tender was open for bids from European companies, with
Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...
Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; ; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician, serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding position ...
deciding not to prevent foreign bidders from participating under national security reasons. Several companies participated, among them: *
BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...
and German Naval Yards *
Damen Group The Damen Group is a Dutch defence, shipbuilding, and engineering conglomerate company based in Gorinchem, Netherlands. Though it is a major international group doing business in 120 countries, it remains a private family-owned company. Dame ...
and
Blohm + Voss Blohm is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Hans Blohm C.M. (born 1927), photographer and author * Hermann Blohm (1848–1930), German businessman and co-founder of German company Blohm+Voss * Irma Blohm (1909–1997), German pol ...
*
Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems TKMS –officially branded as ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems until June 2025– is a group and holding company of providers of naval vessels, surface ships and submarines. It was founded when large industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp acquired Howal ...
and
Lürssen Lürssen (or Lürssen Werft) is a German shipyard with headquarters in Bremen-Vegesack and shipbuilding facilities in Lemwerder, Berne and Bremen-Fähr-Lobbendorf. Lürssen designs and constructs yachts, naval ships and special vessels. Tradin ...
In mid 2017, BAE Systems, offering a ship based on the Type 26, withdrew from the tender and in March 2018 the German government excluded the Thyssenkrupp/Lürssen consortium. Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems then partnered as a subcontractor to German Naval Yards, while Lürssen effectively became a partner to Damen, having acquired Blohm + Voss in 2016. In January 2020 after a five year long bidding process the Dutch
Damen Group The Damen Group is a Dutch defence, shipbuilding, and engineering conglomerate company based in Gorinchem, Netherlands. Though it is a major international group doing business in 120 countries, it remains a private family-owned company. Dame ...
won the tender, although the ships will be constructed at the
Blohm + Voss Blohm is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Hans Blohm C.M. (born 1927), photographer and author * Hermann Blohm (1848–1930), German businessman and co-founder of German company Blohm+Voss * Irma Blohm (1909–1997), German pol ...
shipyard in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, Germany and at the Peene-shipyard in
Wolgast Wolgast () is a town in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the bank of the river (or strait) Peenestrom, vis-a-vis the island of Usedom on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast that can be accessed ...
, Germany, both owned by Lürssen Group. German Naval Yards protested the award, delaying the required legally binding contract signature. However, the company withdrew its protest when it and Lürssen announced they would pool their naval shipbuilding in a joint venture and that the Kiel shipyard would participate in construction.


Contract award

The contract was signed on 17 June 2020. In June 2020 the German
parliaments In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. T ...
budgetary committee officially cleared 6 billion Euros for the first four ships and two options with the first ship planned to be commissioned by 2027. The contract awarded to Damen covers the ships, training facilities as well as two ASW and two detention modules and amounts to 5.48 billion Euros while weapons are contracted separately. Initial operating capability for the ships - to be based in
Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...
- is expected in 2028.
Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...
at its facilities in the Netherlands and Germany will provide radar, IT and
fire control Fire control is the practice of reducing the heat output of a fire, reducing the area over which the fire exists, or suppressing or extinguishing the fire by depriving it of fuel, oxygen, or heat (see fire triangle). Fire prevention and control ...
systems, in particular the "Tacticos" combat management system and the AWWS ("above water warfare system") fire control solution. In November 2020, the provider of the underwater warfare suite had yet to be decided. Wärtsila SAM Electronics in Hamburg will integrate the ships electrical systems while Canadian company OSI Maritime is delivering the navigation suite and
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
unit
Power Systems IBM Power Systems is a family of server computers from IBM that are based on its Power processors. It was created in 2008 as a merger of the System p and System i product lines. History IBM had two distinct POWER- and PowerPC-based hardwar ...
is responsible for the ship platform management and automation systems.
ABB ABB Group is a Swedish-Swiss multinational electrical engineering corporation. Incorporated in Switzerland as ABB Ltd., and headquartered in Zurich, it is dual-listed on the Nasdaq Nordic exchange in Stockholm, Sweden, and the SIX Swiss Excha ...
was awarded a contract to supply the ships DC power system. Electric drive motors and the gearbox will be provided by
Renk The Renk Group AG is a German global manufacturer of transmissions, engines, hybrid drive systems, vehicle suspension systems, plain bearings, couplings, and testing systems. The company builds special gearboxes for tanks, frigates, icebreakers, ...
. The frigates will also be equipped with systems to handle CBRN threats, which includes multiple ChemProX-DS chemical detectors and RanidX radiation detectors.


Construction

The design passed a critical design review in early 2022, after which construction of the first ship began in December 2023 with the first steel-cutting in Wolgast while keel laying is intended for 2024. While the fore ships will be constructed in Wolgast, the aft ships will be built in Kiel where both will be joined and towed to Hamburg. Fitting, tests and trials are to take place in Hamburg. The Hamburg Ship Model Basin (HSVA) is conducting model-based flow testing. On 3 June 2024 the keel for the first F126 frigate, the ''Niedersachsen'', was laid down.


Controversy over contract award

Daniel Günther Daniel Günther (born 24 July 1973) is a German politician who is a member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU). Since 28 June 2017, he has served as the Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein. From 1 November 2018 to 31 Octobe ...
, Minister President of the state of
Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...
where Kiel is located, complained in public over the decision to engage in a European tender, considering German know-how and jobs to be threatened by the governments decision. He reiterated that the construction of surface warfare ships ought to be listed as a "key technology" (''Schlüsseltechnologie'') which would formalise the governments ability (but not obligation) to exclude tenders on surface ships from
EU competition law In the European Union, competition law promotes the maintenance of competition within the European Single Market by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies to ensure that they do not create cartels and monopolies that would damage the ...
. According to Schleswig-Holsteins Minister of the Economy, Bernd Buchholz ( FDP), this is a common practice in other European countries where government can even directly own stakes in national shipyards. He especially criticized that knowledge-intensive activities such as
research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...
would be occurring in the Netherlands. The union of metalworkers (
IG Metall IG Metall (; IGM; German: , "Industrial Union of Metalworkers'") is the dominant metalworkers' union in Germany, making it the country's largest union as well as Europe's largest industrial union. Analysts of German labor relations consider i ...
) and labour councils in shipyards and maritime subcontractors also criticized the decision, considering 15.000 jobs to be threatened in a call on the government to protect shipyards, jobs and engage with industry to bring about a "restructurization" of shipbuilding in Germany. On 12 February 2020, the cabinet decided to include the construction of surface ships among key technologies. The intention to do so had already been formalized during negotiations between the governing parties
SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together wi ...
and
CDU/CSU CDU/CSU, unofficially the Union parties ( ) or the Union, is a centre-right Christian democratic and conservative political alliance of two political parties in Germany: the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian Social U ...
in 2018. This has no impact on the MKS 180 tender, which had already been conducted Europe-wide.


References


Further reading

* {{Ship classes of the Deutsche Marine Frigate classes Frigates of the German Navy