维也纳——周四，德国议员批准了从造船商TKMS采购另外四艘MEKO A-200 DEU护卫舰的协议。此前，政府放弃了问题重重的F126项目，柏林计划将舰队规模扩大至八艘舰艇。
VIENNA — German lawmakers on Thursday approved the acquisition of four additional MEKO A-200 DEU frigates from shipbuilder TKMS, bringing Berlin’s planned fleet to eight ships after the government abandoned its troubled F126 program.
德国联邦议院预算委员会已于7月8日批准了首批四艘舰艇的采购，并保留了追加采购四艘的选择权。德国国防部表示，行使这一选择权将使德国海军拥有一支统一且由八艘舰艇组成的舰级，主要用于反潜作战。
The Bundestag budget committee had approved the first four vessels July 8, alongside an option for four more. The Defense Ministry said the decision to exercise that option will give the German Navy a single, eight-ship class intended chiefly for anti-submarine warfare.
该部门在一份声明中表示，首艘舰艇预计于2029年交付。根据公告，这些舰艇将支持北约在波罗的海、北海、大西洋以及高纬度北冰洋地区的任务。
Delivery of the first vessel is set for 2029, the agency said in a statement. The ships will support NATO missions in the Baltic and North seas, the Atlantic and the High North, according to the announcement.
在退出与Damen Naval公司签订的六艘F126护卫舰合同后，柏林选择了MEKO设计。这些F126护卫舰最初被设想为德国海军未来反潜作战能力的保障。国防部将退出归因于Damen公司“严重的性能问题”，并表示在终止协议前已进行了全面评估。
Berlin selected the MEKO design after withdrawing from its contract with Damen Naval for six F126 frigates, which had initially been intended to supply the Navy’s future anti-submarine warfare capability. The ministry attributed its withdrawal to “considerable performance problems” by Damen, saying it had completed a broader assessment before terminating the arrangement.
这一项目变更已经引发了一场代价高昂的纠纷。据《明镜》周刊上周报道，Damen公司正要求德国政府赔偿47亿欧元（合53亿美元），声称柏林的终止决定带有政治动机且缺乏法律依据。据德国公共广播机构ARD称，F126项目尚未交付任何一艘舰艇，就已耗资超过20亿欧元。
The program change has already triggered a costly dispute. Damen is seeking €4.7 billion ($5.3 billion) in damages from the German government, arguing that Berlin’s termination was politically motivated and legally unfounded, Der Spiegel reported last week. The F126 effort had already cost Germany more than €2 billion without delivering a ship, according to public broadcaster ARD.
首批四艘MEKO护卫舰的采购价格据报为63亿欧元，而追加采购四艘的选择权价值为53亿欧元。路透社报道称，第二批采购（包括项目支持和储备金）将花费约56亿欧元；这四艘舰艇截至2045年的预计运营成本还将达到15.5亿欧元。
The initial four-ship MEKO purchase carried a reported €6.3 billion price tag, while the four-ship option was valued at €5.3 billion. Reuters reported that the second tranche, including project support and reserves, would cost roughly €5.6 billion; the projected operating costs for those four vessels through 2045 amount to another €1.55 billion.
国防部认为，选择单一舰艇类型将有助于简化训练、维护和后勤工作。该部门还表示，MEKO A-200的不同型号已经投入盟国海军使用。
The Defense Ministry argued that selecting one ship type should simplify training, maintenance and logistics. It also said variants of the MEKO A-200 are already in service with allied navies.
TKMS公司将计划中的八艘舰艇生产订单称为该公司有史以来最大的水面舰艇合同。
TKMS described the envisioned eight-ship production run as the company’s largest-ever surface vessel contract.
这家造船商在一份声明中表示：“随着四艘护卫舰已经下单，该项目已进入实施阶段。”
“With the four frigates already on order, the program has entered the implementation phase,” the shipbuilder said in a statement.
作为2022年后的军事建设计划的一部分，德国军方高度重视波罗的海、北海以及——尤其是在格陵兰危机之后——北极地区的反潜作战能力。F-126本应成为这一战略的重要组成部分。其他更成功的反潜采购项目包括波音公司的P-8A“波塞冬”海上监视飞机，其首架飞机近一年前在德国着陆。
As part of its post-2022 buildup, the German military has put a heavy emphasis on anti-submarine warfare abilities in the Baltic, North Sea and, especially since the crisis over Greenland, in the Arctic. The F-126 was meant to be an integral part of this strategy. Other, more successful, procurements aimed at combating submarines include the Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime-surveillance aircraft, the first of which landed in Germany almost exactly a year ago.