The German Navy will receive five new K130 Braunchweig-class corvettes thereby bringing the number of units in the class to ten.
German lawmakers announced that 1.5 billion euros would be spent on the acquisition of the ships, according to a report by the German news site Süddeutsche Zeitung.
The goal is to have the first two corvettes join the fleet by 2019 with the remaining ships joining by 2023, the report further said.
News of the acquisition of corvettes comes after it was announced that the German Navy’s MKS 180 project would be delayed by half a year. A contract award for the MKS 180 is to be expected by the end of 2017.
The 4 billion euro MKS 180 project is expected to provide the navy with four multi-purpose combat ships capable of tackling targets above and below water but also of supporting land missions.
Braunschweig-class corvettes are most likely being acquired to offset delays in the MKS 180 program. The corvettes are less expensive than frigates and easier to navigate in littoral areas and congested regions. Another advantage the corvettes have is that they would not have to be designed from scratch.