Following the cancellation of the F-126 frigate project, the trade union IG Metall is demanding that the entire German shipyard industry be included in the alternative plan, which involves TKMS building eight frigates of the Meko-200 class.
Jürgen Kerner, the union’s Second Vice Chairman and spokesperson for industrial policy, told the “Handelsblatt” that it is understandable that Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius (SPD) is now “slamming on the brakes” regarding the F-126. Kerner added that Pistorius now bears the responsibility of ensuring that TKMS utilizes the strong capabilities of German equipment suppliers and providers, and that the shipyard landscape is involved. This requirement also applies to the former Naval Vessels Lürssen (NVL), which was acquired by Rheinmetall.
The Ministry of Defence announced on Wednesday that the planned construction of six F-126 class frigates will not proceed. Instead, TKMS is now slated to build eight frigates of the smaller Meko-200 class. Following this decision, shares in Rheinmetall experienced a massive drop.
Kerner further stated that the federal government has categorized naval ship construction as a military key technology in its National Security and Defence Industry Strategy (SVI), and this must be clearly visible in this new contract.
Given that 2.3 billion euros in taxpayer money has already been spent on the development and preliminary work for the F-126, the union representative urgently demanded clarification on “how ordered materials and preliminary products will be handled, how the preliminary work will be utilized, and how German suppliers and equipment producers will be incorporated into the new order.”
