Type 424 fleet service ship

Type 424
Class overview
BuildersNVL Group
Operators German Navy
Preceded byOste class
Cost€3.3 billion (2023) (equivalent to €3.4 billion in 2025) for 3 ships + training centre
Planned3
Building3
General characteristics
TypeSignals intelligence gathering vessel
Length132 m (433 ft 1 in)
Complement
  • 50 sailors (ship operation)
  • + 50 operators (electronic reconnaissance soldiers)
Sensors &
processing systems
  • Antennas
    • Rohde & Schwarz ADD-557 for geo-location of communications and radar emitters (20 MHz to 8 GHz)
Electronic warfare
& decoys

The Type 424 fleet service ship is a new class of three signals intelligence (SIGINT/ELINT) and reconnaissance ships for the German Navy. Officially designated as "fleet service ships", they will replace the three Oste class shipsw, which has been in service since the late 1980s.

History

The Type 424 was first announced in June 2021 when a contract was awarded to the NVL Group for the design phase. Bundestag approved the development and procurement of three auxiliary ships as well as a training and reference reconnaissance facility (ARAA) for sea-based signal detection reconnaissance (ssA).

As the main contractor, NVL was commissioned to develop the systems by February 2023. All services should be completed by 2029. The first of the three boats is scheduled to be put into service in 2027.

When concluding the contract with Naval Vessels Lürssen (NVL) in June 2021, the Federal court of Audit, Bundesrechnungshof reported “significant concerns”. It criticized the fact that the Ministry of Defense only wanted to discuss with the shipyard after the contract had been signed how exactly the ships should be built. "Billions were awarded blindly and a very bad negotiating situation," wrote the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The Federal Audit Office feared "additional expenditure in the medium term."

In 2023, the ships only existed vaguely and sketchily on paper.The new building increased in price from 2.1 billion euros to 3.3 billion euros (2023). The Federal cort of Audit, Bundesrechnungshof intervened in 2023 and stated that there were significant risks arising from the contract structure with Lürssen.

In 2023 BAAINBw and Lürssen announced that delivery will be postponed to a period between 2029 and 2031.

The construction of the first ship started in November 2024.

In September 2026, Germany mentioned the possibility of purchasing a fourth ship.

Ships in class

Name No. Builder Status Contract Steel cutting Laid down Launched Comm. Notes
 Deutsche Marine (3 ordered)
TBA — NVL Group In construction Design: 23 Jun 2021

Build: 8 Jul 2023

 21 Nov 2024 Feb 2025 — 2029
TBA — In construction 5 Sep 2025 Nov 2025 — 2030
TBA — — 16 Apr 2026 14 Sep 2026 — 2031
  Planned commissioning

References

  1. ↑ 1262 to 1789 Leonardo Ridolfi, The French economy in the longue durée: a study on real wages, working days and economic performance from Louis IX to the Revolution (1250–1789), Ridolfi, L. (2019). Six Centuries of Real Wages in France from Louis IX to Napoleon III: 1250–1860. The Journal of Economic History, 79(3), 589–627. 1798 to 1809: Mitchell, B. R. (Brian R.). (1975). European historical statistics, 1750–1970. New York: Columbia University Press, 1810 to 1903: Sauvy, Alfred. Variations des prix de 1810 à nos jours. Journal de la société française de statistique, Volume 93 (1952), pp. 88–104 1904 to 2022: Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Coefficient de transformation de l'euro ou du franc d'une année, en euro ou en franc d'une autre année – Base 2015 – Série utilisée par le convertisseur franc-euro – Identifiant 010605954
  2. 1 2 3 "Germany Funds Indigenous Spy Ship Fleet Construction". The Defense Post. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Germany signs off on Type 424 AGI build contract". Janes. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Design freeze of the Class 424 fleet service boats is imminent". defence-network.com. 2 April 2025. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  5. ↑ "NVL Group To Build 3 New SIGINT Ships For German Navy". Naval News. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  6. 1 2 ES&T Redaktion (10 July 2023). "Weitere Mittel für neue Flottendienstboote freigegeben". esut.de (in German). Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  7. ↑ Ludwig, Kristiana; Szymanski, Mike (28 June 2023). "Kostenexplosion: Deutsche Aufklärungsschiffe 1,2 Milliarden Euro teurer". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  8. ↑ Peters (NDR), Massimo Bognanni, Martin Kaul (WDR) und Nils Naber, Stella. "Kostenexplosion bei Spionageschiffen für die Bundeswehr". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 24 November 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ ESD (13 July 2023). "Type 424 fleet service ships: Germany Tests a New Procurement Model". euro-sd.com. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  10. ↑ "Brennbeginn des ersten neuen Flottendienstbootes für die Marine". search.app. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  11. 1 2 "BMVg will zusätzliches Flottendienstboot beschaffen" (in German). 14 September 2026. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 ndr.de. "Neues Aufklärungsboot für die Marine: Milliardenprojekt in Norddeutschland gestartet". ndr.de (in German). Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  13. ↑ Staff, Naval News (11 December 2024). "Germany's First Type 424 SIGINT Ship Enters Production". Naval News. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  14. ↑ Manaranche, Martin (28 June 2021). "Lürssen to Build New AGI Intelligence Ships for German Navy". Naval News. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  15. ↑ "Germany signs off on Type 424 AGI build contract". Default. 11 July 2023. Archived from the original on 23 July 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  16. 1 2 3 Bahtić, Fatima (5 September 2025). "NVL: Construction starts on German Navy's second Type 424 intelligence vessel". Naval Today. Archived from the original on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  17. ↑ Defensa.com (21 November 2025). "Avanza construcción del segundo buque Tipo 424 de la Marina alemana - Noticias Defensa Defensa Naval". Defensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  18. ↑ "Brennstart für letztes Flottendienstboot" (in German). 16 April 2026. Retrieved 16 April 2026.