On April 21st, the first of five K130 Batch II corvettes built for the German Navy, Köln, was christened at the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg. Köln is the first of the second batch of corvettes, also known as the Braunschweig-class after the first batch's lead ship.
Between 2008 and 2013, the first five ships entered service. The ARGE K130 consortium, comprised of Lürssen Werft (now NVL Group), ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, and German Naval Yards Kiel, was awarded a €2.4 billion contract in 2017 to build the new corvettes. The shipbuilding team, led by NVL Group as the prime contractor, plans to deliver the ships by 2025.German maritime technology firm Atlas Elektronik and Thales Deutschland have also been contracted to deliver combat systems for the five new K130 corvettes. In addition to combat systems, the contract also covered setting up and providing a test and training centre in Wilhelmshaven.
