A400 FC, the TKMS-led project company, developed the design with Germany’s defence ministry, the German Navy, the BAAINBw procurement agency and industry partners. Based on the MEKO A400 platform, the frigate is being tailored for long-range air defence and ballistic missile defence.
The F127 is intended to protect naval formations and operate wherever air and missile defence is required. It would also serve as a mobile sea-based element of NATO’s integrated air-defence network.
Updated customer requirements have largely determined the vessel’s current size. Sensors, effectors, command-and-weapon-control systems, energy demands, and space and weight reserves have all shaped the design.
TKMS said the platform’s size, cost and technical configuration were being derived directly from the capabilities required by the customer. The MEKO-based design also provides growth capacity for the later integration of new sensors, effectors and other technologies.
TKMS is working with Rheinmetall within A400 FC to combine the industrial and technical capabilities required for the project. The companies expect 90% of the programme’s added value to be generated in Germany through shipbuilding, system integration, sensors, propulsion systems, electronics and jobs.
“In close collaboration with the BAAINBw, the Ministry of Defense, the Navy, and the other involved agencies, the F127 design has been significantly advanced,” TKMS Chief Executive Oliver Burkhard said. “At our customer’s request, we have developed a solution that reliably meets the exacting requirements while taking into account industrial feasibility and an ambitious timeline.”
“Ninety percent of the value added would be generated in Germany: this includes shipbuilding, system integration, sensors, drives, electronics, and of course jobs,” Burkhard said. “If the contract is awarded promptly, the first ship can be delivered by the mid-2030s.”
