The Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards has won a billion-dollar contract from the German navy for the construction of four frigates. The German Ministry of Defense has announced this. This is the largest German naval order ever.
The Gorinchem company is going to build four MKS 180 frigates, with an option for the construction of two more frigates. An amount of 5.27 billion euros is involved. The ships are being built at the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg. That is Damen’s German partner.
The frigates are about 155 meters long and can be used in, for example, crisis situations, anti-piracy missions and the detection of submarines. About 110 people can stay on board and the ships must be able to mission for two years in an area.
Damen was preferred to German Naval Yards, which worked with the German company Thyssenkrupp. The tender is still being reviewed by the court and must be approved by the Bundestag. Sources tell German media that a condition for approval is that 70 percent of production takes place in Germany.
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