During a visit to Kiel, the German Defense Minister indicated that the option relating to 4 to 6 new Type 212CD submarines, in addition to the two already ordered, could be transformed. This would allow the manufacturer ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems to amortize the investments necessary for the manufacture of the new submersible.
A few years ago, Deutsche Marine, the German Navy, made the headlines in the specialized press when its 6 Type 212 submarines, which entered service between 2005 and 2016, were forced to remain in port due to lack of efficient planned maintenance.
This difficult situation for the largest submarine exporter in the Western bloc led the German authorities to order two additional submarines as part of a co-development with Norway, to replace the Ula class submarines. This order also constituted a remarkable commercial maneuver, with a global contract worth €5,5 billion.
The new Type 212CD submarine of the German Navy
The new submarines, called Type 212CD, will be delivered to the German naval forces by 2034. This new class is also intended to be more imposing than the Type 212A already in service, with a length of 74 meters compared to 56 meters, a width of 10 m compared to 7 m, and a submerged displacement of 2 tonnes, compared to 500 tonnes for the previous version.
They will also be equipped with a new generation anaerobic AIP propulsion, two MTU 4000 diesel engines instead of just one, and new sensors and weapon systems, including the DM2A4 heavy torpedo and the IDAS anti-aircraft system. . They will finally be noticeably quieter, particularly at sustained speed, and equipped with increased diving autonomy.
A few days ago, the ship's manufacturer, the German group ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, announced that the investments required to adapt the industrial tool which must produce the new submersibles would be expensive, and would require state aid, perhaps -be in the form of an equity investment.
Boris Pistorius to the rescue of TKMS
Visiting Kiel, the German Minister of Defense, Boris Pistorius then indicated that the subject was the subject of reflection by his ministry. Remember that the German state had, in 2021, taken a similar stake in the Hensoldt electronics group, which notably designs radars, precisely to enable its industrial transformation.
But a new hypothesis appeared on screens more recently. Indeed, according to the website 24rhein.de, this same Boris Pistorius would have opened the door to ordering 4 to 6 new submarines of the same model for Deutsche Marine, by activating the option initially planned.
For the moment, the ministry would work to finance this measure which would bring the size of the German submarine fleet, from 6 ships today, to 12 or 14 units by the end of the next decade.
For the Bundeswehr, it would be a question of better meeting NATO's expectations of Germany in this area, whether in the Baltic Sea, but also in the North Sea and the North Atlantic. , the Type 212CD being precisely designed to bring oceanic capability to the model.
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[…] During a visit to Kiel, the German Minister of Defense indicated that the option relating to 4 to 6 new Type 212CD submarines, in addition to […]