{"id":53658,"date":"2018-03-15T13:53:31","date_gmt":"2018-03-15T13:53:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/03\/15\/shipbuilders-split-on-german-ness-of-new-combat-ship\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:53:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:53:47","slug":"shipbuilders-split-on-german-ness-of-new-combat-ship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2018\/03\/15\/shipbuilders-split-on-german-ness-of-new-combat-ship\/","title":{"rendered":"Shipbuilders split on German-ness of new combat ship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

COLOGNE, Germany \u2014 Germany\u2019s planned acquisition of a new frigate-like warship has triggered an industry debate<\/a> that goes something like this: Will the vessels be German enough?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is the question being raised by a consortium of the German companies ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and L\u00fcrssen, whose executives were told by the government this month that their joint offering had been eliminated from the race to the build the Mehrzweckkampfschiff 180.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Competing bidders include a Dutch-German team consisting of Damen and Blohm+Voss, and German Naval Yards, which belongs to a Lebanese investor. Bremen-based L\u00fcrssen, which bought Blohm+Voss in 2016, could keep its chance at the deal in case the Dutch-German offering wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With TKMS out, critics fear Germany would cede ground to foreign players in a critical field, despite a pledge in the coalition government pact, finalized this week, to treat surface shipbuilding as a \u201ckey technology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ministry of Defence is not buying that argument. A spokesman described such thinking as \u201cprotectionism\u201d that would violate source-selection rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s global market, the government would be hard-pressed to keep constant tabs on the international dealings of all of its suppliers, the spokesman argued.<\/p>\n\n\n\t