Damen, Blohm + Voss and Thales are awarded the contract to build the MKS 180 As the general contractor, Damen as well as its partners Blohm+Voss and Thales are pleased with the intention announced today, to instruct the partners to supply the German Navy with at least four frigates of type “Multi-purpose battle ship MKS 180”.

Thales press release

Damen welcomes the opportunity to prove itself as a powerful and competent partner of the Federal Ministry of Defense and the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Use of the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces).

ogether with its partners, Damen will handle the order in a way that about 80% of the total net investments will remain in Germany as local value added. Blohm+Voss in Hamburg manages the construction that is solely realised in Germany, involving other shipyards of the Northern German Lürssen Group.

The electronic mission systems commissioned at Thales Nederland also show the dominance of German value creation and know-how development: About 70% of the services are performed by the German Thales country organisation with its sites in Kiel and Wilhelmshaven and by German subcontractors.

The same high German value-added share is planned in the fields of maintenance and service. Therefore, Germany as a high-technology location also benefits from this commissioning.

The following applies to the whole project: The proven German value-added and supply chains are needed and will be fully integrated. The project implementation will involve a large number of small to medium size companies from maritime industry and machinery and plant engineering throughout Germany. In addition to the German coastal regions, almost all federal states will benefit from this contracting with Damen, Blohm+Voss and Thales, directly or via supplies.

The Northern German shipyard group Lürssen, being the parent company of Blohm+Voss, and the Damen Shipyards Group are two family-owned companies with a long-term focus entering into partnership. The families Damen and Lürßen own 100% of the respective company and have been acting in the shipbuilding industry for more than 140 years.

We will make every effort to successfully complete this highly demanding project and to supply the German Navy with innovative and powerful multi-purpose battle ships. This German-Dutch collaborative project opens up new perspectives to both countries regarding further European cooperation. The partnership between Damen, Blohm+Voss and Thales perfectly combines European collaboration with value creation and system expertise in Germany.