TKMS enters Australian Tier 2 combatant market
When is a corvette not a corvette? Industry offerings for a 'Tier 2' combatant, which has generally been assumed to be a corvette-sized ship, have been breaking with tradition in offering much larger heavily armed ships. The MEKO A210 from TKMS would host an impressive array of multi-domain warfighting capabilities. (Photo: Tim Fish)
TKMS has joined the competition to meet the Australian Defence Strategic Review’s (DSR’s) desite to procure a new Tier 2 surface combatant for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) has joined the clamour created by the Australian Defence Strategic Review’s (DSR’s) desire to procure a new Tier 2 surface combatant for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) by demonstrating a new MEKO A210 corvette at the Indo-Pacific Maritime exhibition in Sydney.
TKMS entered the fray with its latest design, an evolution of the company’s existing MEKO 200, which has proven successful on the international market with four batches of ship delivered to seven different countries.
The A210 corvette will be 127.5m-long and 16.7m-wide displacing some 4,750 tons, which will be on the large size for a standard corvette, but has reflected a
Our news & analysis is now part of Defence Insight®
A Basic-level or higher Defence Insight subscription is now required to view this content.
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Lessons shaping the next phase of Arleigh Burke production post-Flight IIA]()
Lessons shaping the next phase of Arleigh Burke production post-Flight IIA
The accelerated delivery of the final Flight IIA destroyer, USS Patrick Gallagher, showcases the payoff of years of workforce investment and process reform at Bath Iron Works, with the lessons feeding into Flight III production.
-
![Ukraine war drives ‘minimum deployable capability’ doctrine in uncrewed systems development]()
Ukraine war drives ‘minimum deployable capability’ doctrine in uncrewed systems development
Ukraine’s battlefield has rewritten the rules of uncrewed systems development. For Syos Aerospace, real-time operator feedback, lean serial production and a system-of-systems philosophy are central to its operating model.
-
![Sealift shortfalls set to drive opportunities across NATO navies]()
Sealift shortfalls set to drive opportunities across NATO navies
A new Council on Geostrategy primer warns that NATO cannot defend its own supply lines. As the alliance faces a sealift and logistics escort deficit, a wave of unawarded procurement is beginning to take shape.
-
![AUKUS advance on UUVs contrasts with Virginia-class compromise]()
AUKUS advance on UUVs contrasts with Virginia-class compromise
The AUKUS partnership is accelerating uncrewed undersea capability while its submarine arm inches forward, and Australia’s decision to settle for three in-service Virginia-class boats raises questions about industrial risk, dependency and whether Pillar II may deliver meaningful capability long before Pillar I can.
