Kjetil Myrha i Kiel, Germany

Official event celebrating cross-border cooperation: defence contract

Yesterday, thyssenkrupp Marine Systems was officially commissioned to build six identical Type 212CD submarines in Kiel, Germany. Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KONSGBERG) will, in addition to delivering the combat system integrated into the new non-nuclear submarines, deliver the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) to the German and Norwegian Navy.

“This materiel cooperation is more than a cooperation between two countries' defenses’,” said Kjetil Myhra, Executive Vice President, KONGSBERG. “It will also result in new constellations of cooperation between the industries in the two countries, where German and Norwegian missile expertise are collaborating to develop the next-generation anti-ship missile.”

KONGSBERG will deliver the NSM to the German Navy as the 6th nation to select NSM. And for Norway, this contract involves replenishing and updating the inventory stock. NSM is the latest 5th generation long-range precision strike missile guided with an inertial navigation system aided by a military GPS receiver and laser altimeter. The NSM with its stealthy design and unique passive infra-red and imaging sensor makes it very hard to detect, increasing the accuracy, avoiding collateral damage.

The combat system, called ORCCA™, is a product of collaboration between Norwegian and German submarine- industry, under the management and design of kta naval systems. kta naval systems, a joint venture between thyssenkrupp Marine Systems’ Naval Electronic Systems business unit (ATLAS ELEKTRONIK) and KONGSBERG established back in 2017.

“This kind of cross-border cooperation will help push technology development even further, and it will create growth within the industry in both nations,“ said Myhra.

The joyous event took place at thyssenkrupp Marine Systems’ shipyard location in Kiel, Germany, in compliance with local health regulations. Special guests of honour were the German State Secretary, Benedikt Zimmer, and the Norwegian State Secretary, Tone Skogen.

“This ambitious cooperation connects Norway and Germany even closer together, and we are already seeing the synergies it creates, within both the military and the civilian domain. This will create increased economic opportunities and high-tech jobs in both our countries. I am certain that cooperation is the way to go for our industries to become more competitive on the world arena. Hopefully, this can be an inspiration for others to join our project,” said Tone Skogen, Norwegian State Secretary, at the event.

It was the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) in Norway and Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr (BAAINBw) in Germany, that signed the contract with KONGSBERG for new naval strike missiles (NSM), together with the contract for the new submarines with thyssekrupp Marine Systems.

You can read thyssekrupp Marine Systems' press release here.

Cover photo by thyssekrupp Marine Systems.

  • Naval strike missile in flight over ocean. Credit: KONGSBERG

    Naval Strike Missile (NSM).

  • 212CD submarine submerged underwater. Illustration photo of the new submarine.

    Type 212CD submarine.