Germany, Norway seeking to 'plot a path' for joint sub programme – report

BERLIN/OSLO, 02 May. - (ANA) - The submarine programme dates back to 2017, when then-Norwegian Defence Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide and her German counterpart Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen agreed to develop bilateral cooperation on naval defence equipment.

Naval chiefs and other high-ranking defence officials from Germany and Norway have held talks in Munich to "plot a path" related to the implementation of a joint submarine program, the website Defence News reports.

The media outlet cited the officials as saying that during the meeting, they discussed the way "to push toward an agreement on the timing, cost and performance characteristics of the 212-CD project".

With the design of the 212-CD submarines yet to be locked down, the programme stipulates clinching contracts with leading German vendor ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) in 2020 and delivering first such vessel to Norway in late 2026.

German Navy chief Vice Adm. Andreas Krause tweeted that after "a successful meeting" in Munich, both sides "are convinced that we want to make #U212CD a success story".

"We will act and speak as if we were ONE Navy. Both navies need the new submarines delivered on time, [and are looking at] cost and quality. Everyone involved in this project should never forget its relevance", he added.

In this context, Defence News cited Sebastian Bruns, a naval analyst with the University of Kiel in northern Germany, as saying that such a cooperation is "new for Germany" given that "everything from spare parts to training and operational aspects is designed to be bilateral from the start, possibly tying the two sea services together for decades".

Under the 2017 strategic cooperation programme on submarines, TKMS is due to produce four such vessels for Norway and two more for Germany. Additionally, the programme envisages the Norwegian missile-maker Kongsberg outfitting German warships with upgraded naval strike missiles.

The implementation of the programme comes as the German military seeks a budgetary boost, with German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz saying last month that although an extra $2.4 billion will be allocated for military spending in 2020, expenditure share will roll back to 1.25 percent of the country's GDP, or $50.2 billion, by 2023.  - (ANA) -

AB/ANA/02 May 2019 - - -