MEKO A210, the German frigate proposal is ready for everything!

The German TKMS proposal for a new frigate, a development of the famous MEKO project, which was presented at the Indo Pacific 2023 defense exhibition, has sparked great controversy. The new MEKO A210, as it was coded, was a proposal aimed at the Australian NavyWhich – after the problems it had in developing the Hunter class frigates, a design based on the British Type 26 – was looking for ships that would be characterized as Tier 1, i.e. “cruisers” and Tier 2, i.e. “frigates”.

Naturally, Australian requirements created confusion, because their definitions and specifications mainly showed frigates (as Tier 1 ships) and destroyers (as Tier 2 ships). Thus, we received proposals from several shipyards for large boats in both categories, which do not relate to the corresponding European specifications.

So what is TKMS proposing, such as the MEKO A210, which is essentially a frigate: a ship 127.5 meters long, 16.8 beam, 4.8 draft, and 4,750 tons displacement. Propulsion will be a combination of diesel and gas turbines, the latter of which will drive a water engine (the same propulsion that has been proposed for the MEKO A200, such as the CODAG WARP), with a maximum speed of 29 knots and a range of up to 6,000 nautical miles. At a speed of 16 knots.

Armament now includes 32 Mk41 vertical launch cells for a variety of weapons, a 127mm Vulcano main gun for long range, two 30mm secondary guns, a close-in defense system that can be RAM or Phalanx, and 16 NSM anti-ship missiles, Two laser guns with a power of 20 kilowattsFore and aft) to handle drones and two twin torpedo tubes. There is still space to accommodate two containers above the helicopter hangar, which will contain special mission equipment, which could be additional launchers, or weapons such as Rheinmetall’s 35 mm Skyshield cannon system.

In the design now, we have an inverted bow, which was also discussed, because it is similar to the FDI frigates. So, French shipbuilder Naval Group made a playful comment on Twitter that “imitation is the greatest compliment.”

Thus the ship appears with a heavy configuration of weapons, at all levels, apparently also with a 10-ton organic helicopter, as well as with an unmanned surveillance helicopter, obeying the trend of the era that begins and requires and Many and varied weapons, and providing more of them as the threats multiply. Most interesting is certainly the double laser that shows that the boat is equipped with excess electrical power, which has now become a “problem” for every complex weapon system.