Germany is on the verge of abandoning the F126 frigate project, often touted as the country's largest warship since World War II, according to financial news. This decision comes after a series of software problems, significant delays, and rising costs associated with the €10 billion project. Officials are expected to remove Dutch shipbuilder Damen as the lead contractor and are considering either replacing them with a German rival or, less likely, scrapping the project entirely, which would result in the loss of €2 billion already spent.
The F126 project, originally known as MKS-180, saw Damen awarded the €5.3 billion contract in January 2020 to build four frigates. The contract explicitly stated that Damen would construct the ships in Germany, with 70% of the contract value flowing through German vendors. Despite this, the project has faced substantial challenges, including issues with transferring design data between shipyards and suppliers, leading to critical delays. Construction of the first unit commenced in December 2023, with a keel-laying ceremony in June 2024, but the program is now several years behind schedule, with initial operational readiness of the first ships postponed to the mid-2030s.
As a contingency, the German navy is pursuing a "bridge solution" by procuring four MEKO A-200 DEU frigates from German shipbuilder TKMS, with an expected delivery of the first unit by late 2029. This fallback plan is intended to meet NATO commitments for anti-submarine warfare capabilities. Damen has indicated a willingness to cooperate with a German lead contractor while remaining an "essential partner." The total cost of this "two-pronged approach" could reportedly escalate to between €16 billion and €18 billion, more than triple the original projected cost of the F126 program. The challenges have highlighted broader concerns about Germany's military procurement system, which faces a vastly expanded defense budget of €650 billion from 2025 to 2030.
