NVL Group begins construction of final German corvette

NVL Group has announced the keel laying of the final Class 130 corvette for the German Navy, indicating the platform production of the five new ships is in its final stages.

The new corvettes, boats six to ten, are manufactured under the leadership of NVL Group, formerly Lürssen Defence, by the K130 consortium, consisting of NVL Group, thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and German Naval Yards Kiel.

Parallel to the keel laying of the stern, the last foredeck was put in place at the Kiel shipyard of German Naval Yards. The foredeck and avert ships are to be moved to Hamburg for the merger.

In Hamburg, the 89m-long corvettes are put into operation and begin to undergo their functional tests with the appropriate authorities.

Currently, boats six, seven and eight are in different stages of final equipment, while boat nine is in the production phase – this keel laying represents boat ten's introduction to the production phase.

According to Shephard Defence Insight, the K130 corvettes, based on the Braunschweig-class, have been designed with stealth features, low draft and automated weapon and defence systems to support littoral warfare.