The third of a total of four 125 class frigates for the German Navy was christened “Sachsen-Anhalt” today at the Hamburg site of Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems. Following the christening of the first two frigates “Baden-Württemberg” in December 2013 and “Nordrhein-Westfalen” in April 2015 this is a further important milestone in the shipbuilding program for this frigate class.
Dr. Gabriele Haseloff, wife of the premier of the state of Saxony-Anhalt after which the frigate has been named, performed the christening ceremony in the presence of high-level representatives from government, the German Navy and the companies involved.
The frigate “Sachsen-Anhalt” is scheduled to be handed over to the German defense procurement agency BAAINBw in early 2019. Commissioning and in-port trials of the first F125 frigate, the “Baden-Württemberg”, have now advanced to the stage where sea trials can commence as planned in spring this year. Handover of the “Baden-Württemberg” to the BAAINBw is scheduled for mid-2017.
The contract for the F125 program is worth around two billion euros in total.
Dr. Hans Christoph Atzpodien, member of the Management Board of Thyssenkrupp’s Industrial Solutions business area and chairman of the supervisory board of Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems: “The F125 frigate class is a completely new type of ship. With numerous innovations and a multiple-crew strategy it is a further showcase for the leading engineering expertise of German naval shipbuilding.”
The ARGE F125 consortium which was awarded the contract to build four F125 class ships for the German Navy in 2007 comprises Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems as the lead company and Fr. Lürssen Werft in Bremen. The pre-fitted bow sections are being manufactured at the Fr. Lürssen Werft shipyards in Bremen and Wolgast. Construction of the stern sections, the joining of the two sections and further fitting out is being carried out at Blohm+Voss Shipyards in Hamburg.
The four 125 class frigates will replace the German Navy’s eight (Bremen type) 122 class frigates. The ships were developed specially for current and future deployment scenarios for the German Navy. In addition to the traditional tasks of national and alliance defense, the 125 class frigates are designed for conflict prevention, crisis management and intervention/stabilization operations in the international arena.
The ships are capable of remaining at sea for 24 months and thus represent the first realization of the intensive use concept, i.e. significantly increased availability in the deployment region. This capability is supported by a smaller crew and a multiple-crew strategy which permits a complete change of crew during deployment.
Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems is one of the leading European system providers for submarines and naval vessels. Around the world the company stands for marine competence, innovative technologies and comprehensive and reliable service. With locations in Kiel, Hamburg and Emden, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems is a business unit of the Industrial Solutions business area of the Thyssenkrupp Group.
