Damen and Thales to build the German MKS 180 frigate of the future
- Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding and Thales signed a €1.5B contract for the delivery and full integration of Thales’s Mission and Combat System for the four MKS 180 class frigates.
- A key milestone for the development of European defence industry, strengthening Thales’ leading position in naval integration worldwide.
- One of the largest ever in Thales’s history, this contract includes the comprehensive Tacticos Combat Management System and the AWWS (Above Water Warfare System) Fire Control Cluster.
Hengelo, 18 November 2020 – Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding and Thales signed on November 17, 2020, the contract for the delivery and full integration of Thales’s Mission and Combat System for the four MKS 180 class frigates contracted by the German Navy. The system will be designed by Damen and completely built by German shipyards, under Damen’s project management.
Valued at €1.5B, the contract illustrates Thales’s leading position in naval global integration. It will be executed by Thales’s naval Centers of Excellence in Hengelo (the Netherlands), Kiel and Wilhelmshaven (Germany) in cooperation with a substantial number of German subcontractors.
Underpinning this contract is the proven cooperation of German and Dutch naval industries, including numerous joint opportunities for Damen and Thales in the Netherlands to innovate within naval shipbuilding projects, often with the participation of the Netherlands’ Ministry of Defence. The project underscores Damen’s and Thales’s ambition to build further cooperation with shipyards and partnering industries in high-end European naval programmes.
Thales’s Mission and Combat System includes the comprehensive Tacticos Combat Management System and the AWWS (Above Water Warfare System) Fire Control Cluster. The contract includes four ship systems, logistic services and multiple land-based test and training sites, as well as the option for one or two additional ships.
AWWS is a cutting-edge warfare suite that helps the ship crews to counter and neutralise complex saturation attacks by continuously analysing and optimising the tactical environment and deployment of resources. AWWS will be combined with APAR* Bl2, the evolved version of Thales’s proven AESA* multifunction radar. In 2019, Thales signed an AWWS development contract for the new M-frigates for the Belgian and Dutch Navies.
In the past years, Thales has been awarded several large contracts by European NATO navies, thanks to innovative solutions and its proven reliability as an industrial partner. These contracts have made Thales the de facto naval combat system partner of NATO.
The first ship of the MKS 180 class will be operational in 2028. The entire programme will run for over ten years.
* AESA: Active Electronically Scanned Array
With 83,000 employees in 68 countries, Thales generated sales of €19 billion in 2019 (on a basis including Gemalto over 12 months).
With more than 50 years of experience as a provider of naval equipment, systems and services, Thales offers naval forces around the world unrivalled expertise and proven operational benefits. Thales understands how naval and maritime affairs are evolving today, and leverages those insights to help ensure the success of a broad range of naval missions around the world. Thales air defence, surface defence, anti-submarine warfare and maritime safety & security systems are now in service with more than 50 navies.
In the Netherlands, Thales employs about 2.200 staff members in Hengelo, Enschede, Huizen, Delft, The Hague and Eindhoven. They are contributing to the development, production and integration of complex systems for defence, transport and security. such as Command & Control, public transport chipcard, communication systems and cyber security.
Thales Deutschland is one of the largest national subsidiaries of the Thales group and employs 3,800 persons at 11 locations and carries out its own manufacturing and development. In 2019, Thales Deutschland generated sales of EUR 1.2 billion, predominantly German value added. Thales Deutschland, an integrated German electronics corporation and systems house, is a model of German engineering tradition. As a recognized member of Germany's high-tech industry, Thales Deutschland offers its customers at home and abroad state-of-the-art, highly secure and ultra-reliable communications, information and control systems, as well as services for secure ground, air and sea transportation, for both civilian and military security and protection needs. In addition, Thales Deutschland has a comprehensive portfolio of IT solutions for cyber security.