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Damen Cuts First Steel For German F126 The prestigious F126 project reached a major milestone today: the cutting of the first steel for the new multi-purpose frigates for the German Navy. Main contractor Damen Naval and project partner NVL Group invited more than 200 guests to attend the official and festive ceremony at the Peene shipyard in Wolgast, Germany. The cutting of the first steel marks the official start of the project’s construction phase. In June 2020, the equipment management organisation of the Bundeswehr, BAAINBw, awarded the construction contract for the four F126 frigates to Damen Naval as head contractor, together with subcontractors Blohm+Voss and Thales. It is the largest shipbuilding project in the history of the German navy and the contract includes an option for two more frigates. The ships will be built entirely in Germany at shipyards in Wolgast, Kiel and Hamburg. The steelwork and pre-assembly for the stern will take place at the Peene shipyard in Wolgast, part of the NVL Group. The foreship will be built in Kiel, where it will be assembled with the stern and towed by sea to Blohm+Voss in Hamburg. Final outfitting, commissioning, testing and delivery, as well as outfitting of the on-board systems, will take place at Blohm+Voss in Hamburg. Delivery of the first ship is scheduled for 2028. With a length of 166 metres and a displacement of up to 10,000 tonnes, the F126 frigates will be the largest in the German naval fleet. The versatile multi-mission platforms can operate all over the world and in all conditions, from the tropics to the polar regions. https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2023/12/damen-naval-marks-official-start-of-construction-phase-f126-frigate/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F126_frigate