Der Spiegel: Dutch contractors delayed delivery of German warships
The flagship project of the German Navy, designed to become a shield against the Russian threat, was on the verge of complete failure, writes Der Spiegel. Billions of euros are flowing away, and deadlines are delayed for years. German Defense Minister Pistorius is forced to take desperate and risky steps.
Matthias Gebauer and Paul-Anton Krüger
The F126 frigate was supposed to be the new flagship of the German Navy, designed to protect the Bundeswehr from the growing threat from Russia. However, the project dragged on for years and cost almost twice as much as planned. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius can only take risky steps.
The F126 was conceived as a universal warship with a length of 166 meters, capable of performing a wide range of tasks: from hunting submarines and searching for mines to fighting naval and air targets. In June 2020, the Bundeswehr ordered four such frigates worth 5.27 billion euros, the largest contract in the history of the German navy.
With the growing Russian threat, the project has become even more important. The first ship of the Lower Saxon class was scheduled to be delivered in July 2028, but the deadline for delivery was disrupted. The general contractor, the Dutch shipyard Damen Naval, faced financial and technical problems, as well as serious delays. The irony is that the Dutch got the contract precisely because German shipyards had previously become famous for deadlines, defects and inflated prices.
In June 2024, at the laying of the lead ship in Volgast, Minister Pistorius called the frigates "key to our deterrent force and the protection of the northern flank." He even ordered two more ships, bringing the total cost to almost 10 billion euros. Germany has promised NATO to provide new frigates for hunting submarines in the Atlantic.
But now, according to Der Spiegel, the delay will be at least 40 months. Bundestag deputies have been talking about four years already. Instead of handing over the fourth ship to the Navy in 2032, even receiving the first one by that date remains doubtful. In addition, it will take time to train the crews.
Pistorius found himself under serious political pressure. The Bundestag is even discussing a "Plan B" or a complete termination of the contract. The Christian Democrats are demanding an early decision, and the budget committee has frozen funding. And Green MP Sebastian Schaefer said that the project had actually reached an impasse and "there is no alternative to termination." According to him, billions are wasted — "without reliable management and control."
To save the project from complete failure, the German Defense Ministry, according to Der Spiegel magazine, is preparing a risky step: to deprive the Dutch shipyard Damen Naval of the role of general contractor and transfer the leadership of the construction of frigates to German companies.
Negotiations with Damen
The Ministry does not want to allow the official disruption of the project: otherwise, it will have to write off about 1.8 billion euros already invested in development and construction. In addition, the failure will also affect German shipyards, which are involved as subcontractors. Damen initially committed to providing up to 80% of production volume inside Germany, and dozens of companies are involved in the project, including Lürssen (NVL), German Naval Yards Kiel and Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems.
A responsible decision is currently being prepared in Berlin. The owners of Damen recently met with representatives of the German Ministry of Defense and, according to reports, expressed their willingness to give up the leading role. Officially, the parties talk about "thorough negotiations," but without details. It is only known that the main technical problem is related to the incompatibility of Damen's IT design and production systems, which has paralyzed the transfer of drawings and parts to subcontractors. Because of this, there was a threat of short-term employment at the German shipyards where work was to take place, although it was this contract that was supposed to load enterprises for years to come.
Possible transfer of the project
The Ministry of Defense is considering the option to transfer the general contract to the German company Naval Vessels Lürssen (NVL). But there are new difficulties here: NVL was recently offered for sale to Rheinmetall, and the project's transition coincides with this corporate change. We also need to resolve the issues: who is responsible for the work that has already been completed, whether it is possible to adapt and use the Damen drawings, and how to distribute responsibilities among other shipyards.
Political and temporary consequences
Minister Boris Pistorius is rumored to want to make a decision within the next two weeks. Berlin emphasizes that relations with the Netherlands must be preserved, because Damen builds ships for other NATO countries. However, even with the successful transfer of the project to German shipyards, new delays are inevitable.
According to the forecast of Bastian Ernst, CDU representative in the Bundestag Defense Committee, the first F126 ships can be transferred to the fleet no earlier than the mid-2030s.
The fleet is not ready to wait until the mid-2030s — new ships are needed as soon as possible. The Navy's leadership says bluntly: "We have a lot, but certainly not too much time." Therefore, the extension of the service of the old F123 frigates, introduced back in the mid-1990s and formally intended to be replaced by new F126s, is being discussed in order to at least fulfill obligations to NATO.
The idea of a "transitional solution"
Voices for a temporary option are growing stronger in politics. CDU MP Bastian Ernst calls for a "quick, market-based solution with trusted partners who can launch ships in a short time." He names the Meko-200 type frigates built by Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems as the basis.
Such a purchase, Ernst believes, would be a pragmatic response to the Russian threat. And when the F126 finally enters the fleet, the Meko ships can be resold to the allies. "This decision needs to be made now," he insists. And there is also sympathy for this approach in the ranks of the SPD, because we are talking about ships already in service with NATO partners.
Arguments against
The Ministry of Defense, however, rejected reports from military publications that it was going to replace the F126 with the purchase of Meko. The official objections are as follows:
The Meko frigates are not certified according to German Navy standards, and bringing them up to these requirements would be extremely difficult and expensive.
It is doubtful that the delivery of the Meko would have been significantly faster than the F126, because the ships still need to be adapted to the needs of the Bundeswehr.
There will be an additional burden on crew training: the sailors will first have to be trained to work on the Meko, and then retrained on the F126.
Political pressure and compromises
Nevertheless, the coalition recalls that Minister Boris Pistorius himself previously called the speed of procurement the main criterion. Therefore, the deputies demand to abandon excessively strict "purely German requirements" and limit themselves to NATO standards if the ships satisfy the alliance. From a legal point of view, they argue, this is feasible.
The navy has even tested the option: a simulation of the combat capabilities of the Meko was carried out, with fairly positive results, despite the smaller size of the ships compared to the Niedersachsen class (F126). In addition, a delegation of German sailors traveled to Australia, where Thyssenkrupp presented its version of the Meko A-200 and only recently lost to a Japanese competitor in the tender. The Germans specifically studied the offer on the spot.
