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On December 7, 2023, the groundbreaking ceremony of the F-126 frigate, the next generation of the German Navy's main warship, was held at the Vorgast shipyard in Germany, and the first ship is expected to be delivered to the German Navy around 2028. Although the F-126 is positioned as a frigate, its displacement has surpassed that of destroyers in service in many countries, and it is the largest tonnage surface combat ship built in Germany since the end of World War II. The Bundeswehr has published the German Navy's construction and development plan for 2031-2035 on its official website, and the F-126 frigate is the top priority of the relevant plan.
F-126 "10,000 tons of protection"
F-126 10,000-ton protection
The German Navy's current and future surface main combat ships are all called "frigates", and the model that has attracted the most attention from the outside world is the F-126 "10,000-ton guard" that has just started construction.
The German military and related scientific and military-industrial enterprises did a lot of preliminary work on the construction of the F-126 (previously known as the MKS-180). In June 2020, the German Ministry of Defense awarded the construction contracts for the first batch of four F-126 frigates to the German company Blom-Foss, the Dutch Damen Shipbuilding Group and the French company Thales, claiming to be "Germany's largest military shipbuilding project" after World War II.
The 4 frigates will be built at 3 shipyards in Germany, Vorgast, Hamburg and Kiel. Among them, the shipyard in Vorgast is responsible for the construction and pre-assembly of the steel structure, and the shipyard in Kiel is responsible for the assembly of the hull segments. Once the hull is assembled, it will eventually be towed to the shipyard in Hamburg for installation, final commissioning and sea trials. Due to the large number of relevant parties involved, it can be said that the F-126 frigate project is of great significance for promoting the development of the military industry in Germany, the Netherlands and even the entire European industry. It is expected that by 2035, the number of F-126 ships in the German Navy will reach 6 to 8.
The F-126 frigates will be equipped with NSM "Kongsberg" stealth anti-ship cruise missiles
According to the latest public data, the F-126 frigate has a total length of 166 meters, a width of 21.7 meters, a draft of 5.9 meters, a crew of 114 people, and can also carry an additional 84 other personnel (such as special forces or various technical personnel, etc.), with a full load displacement of 10,550 tons (more than the current main "Burke" class destroyer of the US Navy), a maximum speed of more than 26 knots, and a maximum endurance of about 8,000 nautical miles. In terms of overall design features, in addition to the word "big", improving the level of automation and reducing the crew are also the core parts of it. The base crew of the F-126 frigate is only 114 (only about one-third of the crew of the Burke-class destroyers), which is mainly due to the high level of informatization/automation and the design of low maintenance requirements. Theoretically, this type of ship will have the ability to perform missions at sea for more than two consecutive years (crew rotation every four months) without the need for shore/port maintenance, and the ability to operate and operate in the ocean is very strong.
The multi-functional tactical module design is another major feature of the F-126 frigate, and the German Navy will flexibly replace the relevant tactical modules to undertake a variety of tasks according to operational needs. The relevant military-industrial complex, which is responsible for the construction of the F-126, said that the ships of this type can quickly swap these tactical modules without waiting for a "long commissioning cycle". Currently, the progress of the F-126 MM ASW "Anti-Submarine Warfare Mission Module" is nearing completion. According to the latest plans, the German Navy will soon receive two F-126 MM ASW modules, which will be used to perform long-range anti-submarine operations and complete (mapping) more extensive and detailed underwater terrain images, which will also be used in conjunction with the latest active and passive sonar technology.
A new 127 mm gun that fires Vulcano extended-range precision-guided projectiles
The main shipboard armament of the F-126 will include: a 16-cell US-made Mk-41 VLS missile vertical launch system, capable of loading and launching up to 64 US-made "improved Sea Sparrow missiles" ESSM Block II. missiles in a "one pit, four bombs" manner. The F-126 will also be equipped with eight NSM Kongsberg stealth naval strike/anti-ship cruise missile launchers, two RAM Hiram anti-aircraft missile launchers for close defense, a 127-mm Otto main gun capable of firing Vulcano extended-range precision-guided projectiles, and two MLG27-4.0 27mm small-caliber secondary guns developed by Rheinmetall.
In addition, Rheinmetall will also install MASS-type decoy jamming bomb launchers for terminal defense. The hangar of the F-126 can accommodate two 10-ton NH-90 multi-purpose helicopters or multiple rotary-wing unmanned helicopters (such as the SAAB Skeldar developed in Sweden).
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In terms of ship electrical equipment, the F-126 will be equipped with the Hensoldt TRS-4D C-band multifunctional phased array search/surveillance radar, while the French company Thales will also provide the ship with the APAR Block II. X-band multifunction radar (mainly used for fire control guidance and low-altitude search/blind filling), the Gatekeeper infrared/television observation system, the Mirador Mk-2 electro-optical tracking and observation system, and the satellite communication system. Germany's Rohde & Schwarz Electronics will also provide the R-ESM radar electronic support system and the C-ESM communication system (with the functions of target detection, identification and positioning communication and radar transmission) for this type of ship.
The F-126 has state-of-the-art marine electrical equipment
Germany's plans for the future
In addition to the F-126, it is expected that by 2035, the main force of surface combatants of the German Navy will include four F-125 (MEKO A-400) Baden-Württemberg-class frigates and eight K-130 "Braunschweig"-class corvettes. The four F-124 "Saxony"-class frigates in service are expected to be retired around 2035, and it is reported that the German Navy is planning to develop more advanced and larger tonnage "10,000-tonnage" F-127 air defense frigates (the final number of service may reach five, which is stronger than the F-125/F-126 comprehensive combat capability) to replace the F-124.
In recent years, along with the changes in the security situation in Europe, Germany has constantly adjusted its long-standing conservative defense policy. Especially after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Germany believes that this is a "major turning point" in European history, and intends to accelerate the transformation and reconstruction of the army by formulating a new national security strategy and increasing the defense budget, and hopes to build an armed force with the characteristics of "powerful, ultra-modern and progressive", which of course also includes the construction of an ocean-going navy with comprehensive combat strength in the forefront of European countries (and even NATO member states).
F-125 frigates in active service with the German Navy
Due to the constraints of the "peaceful inertia" of the post-World War II defense policy, Germany's defense construction, especially the construction of naval forces, is quite different from that of the United States, Britain, and France (except for submarines, the overall strength of the German Navy's surface combat ships is even inferior to that of the Italian Navy). In the past, most of Germany's relevant weapons and equipment technologies and concepts failed to enter the forefront of the times, not only did they lack funds for research and development, but also "delayed entry into service" from time to time. This is one of the main reasons why Germany urgently needs to change the status quo of equipment.
Therefore, the outside world generally believes that although Germany intends to seek the status of a "political and military power" in Europe and even the world by accelerating military modernization, it is difficult for Germany's actual military strength to achieve significant improvement in the short and medium term due to the constraints and influences of many complex factors at home and abroad, and the German naval strength in 2035 will still not be able to reach the "first place in Europe".