Germany scrapped a landmark frigate programme on Wednesday following delays and expected cost overruns, sending shares in the country's top defence firm Rheinmetall — which was tipped to win the contract —
Germany scrapped a landmark frigate programme on Wednesday following delays and expected cost overruns, sending shares in the country's top defence firm Rheinmetall — which was tipped to win the contract — sharply lower.
Plans to build six F126 frigates had been mired in trouble for a while, with Berlin weighing whether to hand the contract to Rheinmetall's NVL division after initial supplier, Dutch group Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding, failed to meet timelines and budgets.
Germany's defence ministry said it would terminate the programme, warning it would have pushed the cost of six ships to more than €18 billion ($20 billion), up from an initial estimate of about €10 billion.
Instead, Berlin will switch to eight smaller Meko A-200 frigates from Thyssenkrupp's marine unit TKMS at an expected €11.6 billion, partly confirming earlier plans.
"Great news, definitely for us," TKMS CEO Oliver Burkhard said in a video post on LinkedIn, leaving open the option of including industrial partners that lost out on the F126 project, without giving details.
Shares in Rheinmetall, Europe's largest ammunition maker, fell by as much as 20% to their lowest in nearly 15 months, wiping more than €11 billion off its market value.
Only last year
Content Original Link:
" target="_blank">
