Free Republic

It’s no real surprise that buying a fleet of new warships for Canada’s navy is an incredibly expensive, complicated and lengthy endeavour. With $26 billion earmarked for the vessels and construction expected into the 2030s, it’s the most substantial military procurement in the country’s history. This week, the government announced it would try and streamline that process by seeking pre-existing warship design bids for its new Canadian surface combatants instead of designing its own unique class of ship, as well as combining the design and weapons system integrated into a single competition. The department of public works and procurement touts...

China is trying to sell two submarines to Egypt that are cheaper than vessels on offer from Germany, industry sources told Reuters, as Beijing looks to expand weapons exports beyond its traditional customer base in Asia. Beijing has sought to undercut Western submarine makers on price and by offering attractive export-credit terms for sales in Asia, the sources said. It has won deals with Pakistan and Bangladesh so far. China displaced Germany as the world's third-largest arms exporter, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in March, though nearly 70 percent of those weapons went to Pakistan, Bangladesh and...

Israeli web portal Walla! recently published an interview with the head of the Israeli Navy's equipment division, Moshe Zana, who provided some details on the SAAR 6 vessel project ordered from Germany. Speaking during the Israel Air Force ceremony on December 25th 2014, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel ordered four new patrol vessels from Germany: "Today, I am pleased to announce that three days ago, we added an important component to our defensive force. We purchased four new Saar vessels from Germany". The Israeli Ministry of Defense completed in May 2015 the negotiations for purchase of four...

May 11 Israel bought four German-made corvette warships on Monday to help secure its Mediterranean gas rigs, with Berlin heavily subsidizing the deal, Israel's Defence Ministry said on Monday. The ships, worth 430 million euros ($480 million), will be built by Thyssen Krupp and delivered within five years, providing significantly more fire power to Israel's navy. The German government will pay 115 million euros towards the cost. As part of its atonement for the Nazi Holocaust, Germany is committed to Israel's security and has often helped pay in the past for the cost of military equipment such as submarines. Thyssen...

Algeria Orders Two MEKO 200 Class Frigates TKMS to supply 2 MEKO frigates and six Super Lynx helicopters in €2.5bn deal 09:58 GMT, April 5, 2012 Algeria’s ministry of defence has ordered two MEKO 200 frigates from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) as part of the navy’s modernisation drive. The contract, No. 674/889, was signed on March 26, according to Algerian media, after a year of negotiations. In 2008 Forecast International reported that Algeria was seeking to acquire four new frigates. TKMS will supply two MEKO 200 frigates and six AgustaWestland Super Lynx helicopters under the €2.5 billion contract. According to...

Start of Production for the First 125 Class Frigate for the Germany Navy at Blohm + Voss (Source: ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems; dated May 9, web-posted May 10, 2011) HAMBURG --- On May 9, a large number of guests and representatives from politics, defense and industry gathered at the Blohm + Voss in Hamburg to mark the start of production for the first 125 Class Frigate (F125) for the German Navy. The invitation had been extended by the F125 Work Group (ARGE F125) consisting of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems AG – the client who has entrusted Blohm + Voss Naval GmbH with...