New defense contract for the Kiel-based submarine manufacturer TKMS from Singapore

dpa May 8, 2025 New defense contract for the Kiel-based submarine manufacturer TKMS from Singapore. The Kiel-based submarine builder Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) plans to build more submarines for Singapore. A contract to build two more Type 218SG submarines has been signed, the company announced this morning. This further increases TKMS's record order book, currently worth approximately €16 billion. The order expansion can be handled within the existing capacities in Germany, despite high utilization well into the 2040s. Singapore had already ordered four submarines from Kiel in the past. The small but wealthy Southeast Asian city-state had previously had four submarines built in Kiel. At the end of 2022, then-German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Singapore's then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong participated in the christening of two submarines in the fjord. The four Invincible-class submarines are 70 meters long and are among the largest submarines built in Germany since World War II. They feature air-independent fuel cell propulsion. They are designed for a crew of 28 men and women. TKMS says it is operating at full capacity until the early 2040s. In December, the Bundestag's Budget Committee approved the construction of four additional submarines of the modern 212CD class for the German Navy. The contract volume for the German units alone is €4.7 billion. According to previous TKMS information, Norway has also already indicated its intention to increase the number of submarines.