VIENNA — The German Defense Ministry has announced the termination of its F126 frigate project, originally intended to produce six anti-submarine warfare ships. Instead, the ministry will now acquire eight MEKO A-200 frigates from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.

This change comes after prolonged delays and budget escalations with the Dutch firm Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding, which had won the contract in 2020 to construct the frigates at an estimated cost of €10 billion ($11.3 billion). The Defense Ministry reported that Damen could not meet the stipulated delivery schedule or cost framework.

Efforts had been underway since 2025 to possibly shift the role of general contractor to Naval Vessels Lürssen, a shipbuilding group recently acquired by Rheinmetall. However, discussions indicated that continuing the F126 program under Lürssen’s leadership would drive the cost up to about €15.2 billion for six vessels. Considering the payments already made to Damen and other related contracts, the total expense was projected to surpass €18 billion.

The ministry also highlighted that opting for Lürssen would require the government to relinquish any potential claims for damages against Damen, a step it was not prepared to take. The legal examination of these claims is still ongoing.

A strategic shift towards the MEKO frigates had been under consideration since at least March, as reported by Defense News. Germany was exploring a temporary solution involving four MEKO A-200 DEU ships from TKMS to maintain its anti-submarine capabilities in line with NATO deadlines. At that point, the possibility of the F126 program’s continuation was still open, with ongoing negotiations involving Lürssen and Damen remaining interested in staying on as a crucial partner.

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With Wednesday’s announcement, this saga has reached its conclusion. The German Navy’s chief officer has approved the MEKO A-200 DEU model as capable of achieving Germany’s essential submarine-hunting objectives and fulfilling NATO requirements, according to the ministry.

Pending approval from the budget committee of the Bundestag, the initial set of four MEKO frigates is expected to cost around €6.3 billion ($7.15 billion), with an option to order four more by the end of 2026 for an additional €5.3 billion ($6 billion). This totals approximately €11.6 billion ($13.2 billion) for all eight ships. The ministry notes that the price increase from initial estimates is primarily due to converting an industry cost projection into a firm contract offer from TKMS, with only about 5% of the total cost attributed to additional features requested by the Navy.

The ministry intends to expedite the submission of the necessary approval documents to the Bundestag’s Budget Committee to adhere to the NATO capability deadline.