8 minutes agoWhy did Germany give up plans for a large army shipment?
Periskopi(an hour ago)
(an hour ago)Rheinmetal shares dropped by 13% after the German government gave up plans for a large shipment of warships from the firm, which would have been the largest warship commission since World War II.
The news magazine"Der Spiegel"reported on Tuesday that the multibillion-euro project to build six of the world's largest frigates, F126, had been cancelled, Euronews writes, records Telegrafi.
The ministry in Berlin stressed that the decision was a response to considerable delays, predictable increases in costs and other risks.
However, cancelling the contract can be costly for taxpayers.
At the same time, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius wants to secure eight smaller frigates instead.
To that end, Berlin awarded new contracts to defence contractor T The KMS, whose shares increased about 10% in early trade Wednesday.
According to the paper, the warship project was launched for the first time by Ursula von der Leenen (CDU) when she was minister of defence.
In 2020, its successor, Boris Pistorius (SPD), ordered the F-126 Superfregate in the Netherlands from the Damen shipyard.
However, because of delays and other problems, the German ship builder Lürssen Naval Vesels - since he was taken over by Rheinmetall in March 2026 - was put to the top of the project.
In March 2026, Berlin approved the procurement of four MEKO A,200 frigates built by TKMS, which are estimated to cost about 1 billion euros each, according to FT report, amid growing concerns about delays in the six-ship F126 programme.
According to the report by Die Welt, citing the German Ministry of Defence, the F126 programme had already caused about 2.3 billion euros of cost before its annulment.
These costs include design work, software development, construction activities and payments for contractors.
The ministry says the continuation of the programme would have postponed the total costs of over 18 billion euros, compared to an initial value of the programme of approximately 10 billion euros for six frigates.
Instead of F126 frigates, which were recently scheduled for surrender in 2029, it is now expected to be ordered by KMS a total of eight smaller metre frigates MEKO A-200, extending the original order for four ships deployed in March.
The now under consideration warships -- about 120m long and 4,200 tonnes long -- are much smaller than F126, which was designed to be 166m long with a shift of 10,500 tonnes. Initially, six warships were to be purchased; there may now be eight.
Navy leaders have reportedly backed the defence minister's decision to review the frigate plans. /Telegraph/
