Germany cancels F126 programme, favours MEKO A-200 instead

A computer generated image of TKMS' MEKO A-200 frigate design. (TKMS)

The Bundeswehr has cancelled its troubled F126 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) frigate programme, it announced in a press release on 24 June 2026.

As a replacement for the six F126s, the Bundeswehr said it is to receive up to eight Multi-purpose Combination (Mehrzweck-Kombination: MEKO) A-200 DEU (Deutschland) frigates according to plans of the German Federal Ministry of Defence (BMVg). While not finalised, the Bundeswehr added that “The ministry [BMVg] therefore wants to present the basis for the decision on the purchase of the MEKO A-200-DEU frigates to the Bundestag's budget committee as soon as possible.” Frigates from the MEKO A-200 family are in service with Algeria, Egypt, and South Africa.

The Bundeswehr estimated the procurement price for the first four MEKO A-200-DEU frigates at around EUR6.3 billion (USD7.1 billion). The option for four more ships could be triggered by the end of 2026 for around EUR5.3 billion, it added. The Bundeswehr compared these costs with those “in the order of” EUR18 billion, which it said the purchase of six F126 frigates would probably have meant.

The MEKO A-200 is a TKMS design. TKMS told Janes in a statement on 24 June that “we began preliminary work back in February... TKMS will deliver the first frigate to the Navy in 2029. The announcement to procure four ships in the first phase, with an option to add four more, opens up the possibility of involving the German shipbuilding industry. We are open to discussions with our industry partners.”