TSAMTO, May 13. Naval Vessels Lurssen (NVL) announced the christening ceremony of the seventh K130 class corvette on May 7 at Blohm+Voss in Hamburg ("Braunschweig"), which received the name (F-267) Karlsruhe.
The Karlsruhe will be the third K130 class ship of the second series. After the completion of the christening ceremony, the corvette at NVL Blohm+Voss will be retrofitted with the necessary equipment, undergo factory and acceptance tests and will be transferred to the German Navy. Currently, all five K130 second series corvettes are in various stages of construction in Hamburg.
As reported by TSAMTO, the German Navy already has five K130 class corvettes in service ("Braunschweig") of the first series, staged from 2008 to 2013. Their main tasks are to combat surface ships and enemy air attack means, defeat ground targets in the coastal zone, escort vessels, control coastal waters, the state border and the exclusive economic zone.
On September 12, 2017, the German Federal Armament, Information Technology and Maintenance Agency (BAAINBw) signed a contract for the construction of five second-series corvettes with the ARGE K130 consortium, which included Lurssen Werft GmbH (main contractor), ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems GmbH and German Naval Yards Kiel. The cost of the order is estimated at 2.5 billion. euro. The contract included the construction of ships, the integration of all systems, the creation of infrastructure, logistics, and crew training. The FuWES K130 consortium, formed by Atlas Elektronik and Thales Deutschland, is to supply combat systems for the ships, as well as create test and training centers in Wilhelmshaven.
The steel cutting ceremony for the construction of the K130 lead corvette of the second series, (F-265) Cologne, took place on February 7, 2019. In April 2019, the keel laying ceremony of this ship was held. The keel laying of the second corvette, (F-266) Emden, took place in January 2020, the third, (F-267) Karlsruhe, in October 2020, the fourth, (F-268) Ausburg, in July 2021. In early 2022, the construction of the fifth ship, the Lubeck, began.
The baptism of the (F-265) Cologne took place in Hamburg on April 21, 2022, and the (F-266) Emden in May 2023. Initially, it was planned that the supply of Navy ships would begin before the end of 2022 and be completed by 2026. However, at the end of 2022 it became known that due to problems with the integration of combat control systems, the German Navy would receive corvettes two years late.
As part of the agreement, Naval Vessels Lurssen is building the bow sections of two ships in Bremen, and three German Naval Yards Kiel GmbH in Kiel–Gaarden. The Peene-Werft facility in Wolgast, which is also owned by Lurssen, is building the aft sections of all five ships. All five corvettes will be assembled, equipped and launched at NVL Blohm+Voss in Hamburg. They will also leave Hamburg for the tests.
In October 2021, Lurssen Werft GmbH was reorganized into a division of yacht building and military shipbuilding. The latter is the responsibility of the Naval Vessels Lurssen (NVL) group.
