Germany plans to place an additional order for four MEKO A-200 frigates with the German naval shipbuilder TKMS.
Documents submitted by the German Ministry of Finance to the Bundestag’s Budget Committee indicate that the contract value for these four latest MEKO A-200 frigates is approximately €5.6 billion (about US$6.279 billion); construction costs account for roughly €5.3 billion, with the remaining funds allocated for project support and contingency reserves.
If this follow-on order receives approval from the German parliament, the scale of the MEKO A-200 frigate program being built by TKMS for the German Navy will increase to eight ships, with a total value of approximately €11.6 billion (about US$13.007 billion).
As planned, the first four MEKO A-200 DEU-class frigates were approved by the German Bundestag’s Budget Committee in July 2026, with the first ship expected to be delivered in 2029; the four additional ships ordered subsequently are expected to be completed and delivered by 2035.
It is understood that the German Ministry of Defence initially ordered an initial batch of four MEKO A-200 frigates from TKMS to accelerate the replacement of the failed F126 frigate program; with the announcement of this additional order, the MEKO A-200 project has evolved into one of the German Navy’s key surface fleet initiatives.
Several months ago, the German Ministry of Defence announced the termination of the F126 frigate program—citing “significant delays, massive cost overruns, and unforeseen risks”—and cancelled the construction contract with the Dutch shipbuilding group Damen.
The F126 frigate program comprises a total of six vessels; since signing the construction contract with Damen Shipyards in 2020, Germany has spent over €2 billion on the project. Upon terminating the program, the German Ministry of Defence stated: “If the project were to proceed, the total cost for the six frigates would skyrocket from the initially projected €10 billion to more than €18 billion.”
After the failure of the F126 frigate project, TKMS’s MEKO A-200 frigate became another option for Germany. This type of frigate has been purchased and recognized by many countries, and is regarded by Germany as a mature ship type that can quickly enhance the navy’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
According to its official website, TKMS is a leading global naval enterprise that spun off from the German industrial giant ThyssenKrupp AG—a conglomerate with interests spanning steel, defense, automotive components, and elevator parts—to become an independent, publicly listed company in 2025.
TKMS operates three shipyards—located in Kiel, Wismar, and Itajaí (Brazil)—and has a global workforce of over 9,100 employees (including temporary staff). As a systems supplier, the company focuses on submarines, surface vessels, maritime electronics, and security technologies. Its Kiel facility, employing approximately 3,300 people, is the largest shipbuilding site in Germany.