Rheinmetall wants to build F126 frigates as general contractor

More power ahead Rheinmetall pushes construction of F126 frigates for the German Navy

2026-03-23 Source: dpa 1 min Reading Time

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Germany's largest defence contractor Rheinmetall expects to be the general contractor for the restart of the delayed frigate construction.

The largest new construction project for the German Navy is stalling. It is years behind schedule. It involves several F126 frigates. Now the armaments group Rheinmetall is counting on taking over the project in order to finish it quickly ...(Source: Ladies Naval) — The largest new construction project for the German Navy is stalling. It is years behind schedule. It involves several F126 frigates. Now the armaments group Rheinmetall is counting on taking over the project in order to finish it quickly ...
(Source: Ladies Naval)

Armaments group Rheinmetall is expecting a swift restart in puntco's delayed construction of the F126 frigates. "We assume that we will get the F126 under contract as general contractor in the summer," Tim Wagner, head of the newly created Maritime Systems division at Rheinmetall, told Welt am Sonntag. According to this, Rheinmetall wants to accelerate the lead times and deliver the first of the six planned frigates in the second half of 2031. Talks are also underway with the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support. Rheinmetall is known to have taken over the naval shipyard division NVL of the Bremen-based Lürssen Group for 1.5 billion euros. Its center is the Hamburg shipyard Blohm+Voss.

Rheinmetall does not necessarily have to be there ...

The general contractor for the construction of the F126 was originally the Dutch company Damen Naval from Vlissingen, but with the German shipyards as subcontractors, the Dutch were unable to build the ships on time, which is why the program is around four years behind schedule, according to reports. Incidentally, the construction of the planned six F126 frigates for around ten billion euros is the German Navy's largest newbuilding program to date. The ships are primarily specialised in submarine hunting. Incidentally, the takeover by Rheinmetall as general contractor is one of two options currently being pursued by the Ministry of Defence. The alternative could bring the Kiel-based naval shipbuilder TKMS on board, which is currently preparing to build smaller Meko A-200 DEU frigates.

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