Key facts
- Germany will order a fourth signals intelligence ship.
- Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced the order on Monday.
- The vessels are described as crucial for situational awareness.
- The German navy will take delivery of the new class of ships starting in 2029.
- The Type 424 SIGINT vessels will replace the older Type 423 Oste-class AGIs.
- The first steel cutting for the third and final Type 424 vessel took place in April 2026.
Germany will order a fourth signals intelligence ship, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced on Monday. The announcement came during the keel-laying ceremony for the third such vessel being built by Rheinmetall in Wolgast.
Pistorius stated that these ships are vital for providing situational awareness in an increasingly unstable security environment, describing them as "our eyes and ears at sea" capable of perceiving and analyzing a vast range of signals and sounds.
The German navy is scheduled to receive the new class of ships starting in 2029. The Type 424 vessels are intended to replace the older Type 423 Oste-class intelligence-gathering ships, which entered service in the late 1980s. The contract for the construction and delivery of three Type 424 vessels was signed between Germany's Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) and the Naval Vessels Lürssen (NVL) Group. The design phase for these specialized signals intelligence (SIGINT) ships, capable of monitoring radar and communications signals across a broad spectrum, was developed in cooperation with BAAINBw. The training and reference facility for the Type 424 is planned for delivery in 2027, with the first AGI to follow in 2029 and the third in 2031. The first steel cutting for the third and final Type 424 vessel took place earlier than planned in April 2026.