The design of the MEKO-type ships was developed by the German shipbuilding company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). MEKO from "Mehrzweck-Kombination" stands for "multi-purpose combination" using methods of modular design of warships. The MEKO concept was originally developed by Blohm & Voss shipyard and has a long history in naval shipbuilding, beginning in the late 1970s when the Nigerian Navy ordered the 3,360-ton frigate MEKO 360 H1, NNS Aradu.
More than 40 years later, the MEKO brand is still in production. Among the latest customers of the MEKO–type ships is Egypt, which in May 2023 received the second of four MEKO A-200 frigates with a displacement of 3,700 tons. The third one is planned to be delivered by the end of 2023. The first three are being built in Germany by TKMS, and the fourth is being built in Egypt at the Alexandria shipyard.
ENS Al-Aziz (F 904) is the lead ship of a series of four MEKO A200 frigates for the Egyptian Navy
Signing of a contract worth 2.3 billion rubles. euro, for the supply of four buildings took place in April 2019. The new ships will replace the existing four frigates of the Oliver Hazard Perry project (former US Navy ships), bought second-hand in 1997-98. According to Western experts, the contract was a significant step forward in building up the capabilities of the Egyptian Navy.
For the first time, the MEKO A-200 project was purchased by South Africa from Blohm & Voss for its Navy in 1999. We are talking about four frigates A-200 SAN Valour ("Valor"). The A-200 is an evolution of the older MEKO 200 project, which was successful in 1987-2006. Then 25 ships of this design were exported to five countries: Australia (8), Greece (4), New Zealand (2), Portugal (3) and Turkey (8).
The Amatola frigate (F145) is the first of the four Valor–class ships of the South African Navy
Looking to the future, the German Navy is evaluating the new A400 design as the basis for its F127 frigate program. No earlier than 2032, the F127 project will replace the existing F124 Saxony type air defense frigates and, allegedly, will include new missile defense capabilities against ballistic and hypersonic missiles. Presumably, the F127 will have a length of up to 220 m and a displacement of about 10-12 thousand tons.
The company also proposed a new design of the MEKO A300 PL for the project of the Polish frigate "Mechnik". Despite the failure in this competition, the variant of the MEKO-type ships with a length of 130 m and a mass of 5400 tons, which can carry 64 missile compartments, shows that the design is adaptable enough to conduct intensive combat operations on the surface. This is important in order to meet the trends of the future surface warfare market, where ships are becoming larger.
Ships of the MEKO type
Title MEKO A-200 Tamandaré Class (MEKO A-100) MEKO A-300 Category Frigates Corvettes, frigates Frigates Suppliers ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, Alexandria Shipyard, Blohm+Voss, Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, Atech, Embraer ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems Region Europe, Africa South America Europe Country of origin Germany, Egypt Brazil Germany Status In production In production In development Total number of ordered 10 4 n/a Total delivered 7 n/a n/a Unit cost (USD million) 416, 7 400,00 521,00 First delivery 2006 2025 n/a Decommissioning n/a n/a n/a Length (total, m) 121 107,2 130 Width (total, m) 16,3 15.95 n/a Draft, m 4,4 5,2 n/a Displacement (total, tons) 3700 3 455 5400 Speed (maximum, uz.) 29 28 n/a Range of travel (total, km) 13 334,4 n/a n/a Crew (people) 120 n/a n/a Passengers (people) 50 n/a n/a
The MEKO A-300 project is seen as a turnaround for TKMS, which, after delays with the Baden-Württemberg type F125 frigates , lost the contract for the F126. As you know, the Bundeswehr announced a tender and after a long bidding process in January 2020 chose the Dutch shipbuilder Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding. The latter uses the Blohm & Voss shipyard, currently owned by the Naval Vessels Lurssen group (NVL), but until 2016, ironically, belonged to TKMS.
However, export success is considered a key component of the MEKO brand. The A200 design allowed TKMS to maintain its position in the domestic and international warship markets. In 2012 Algeria ordered two frigates MEKO 200AN Erradii (910) and El Moudamir (911), which were delivered in 2016 and 2017. Although two more options were cancelled in 2023, this allowed the company to secure the Egyptian contract production line.
Sketch of Tamandare-class corvettes that are being built for the Brazilian Navy
In Brazil, in March 2023, the construction of the first of four Tamandare class corvettes built according to the MEKO A100 MB project based on the A200 project began at the ThyssenKrupp Estaleiro Brasil Sul plant in Itayai, Santa Catarina State. The launch of Tamandaré is scheduled for mid-2024, and the transfer to the Brazilian Navy by the end of 2025. Steel cutting for the second-in-class ship is scheduled for the end of 2023.
Meanwhile, the MEKO concept was applied in the small ship market, where the MEKO 100 type first achieved success in the early 2000s. We are talking about an export order for the first six Kedah project corvettes with a displacement of 1,850 tons for the Royal Malaysian Navy.
According to the materials of the resource shephardmedia.com