Prime contractor Damen Naval and Renk have signed a contract for the delivery of reduction gears and electric propulsion systems for the first four new class 126 (F126) frigates for the German Navy, Damen writes in a press release. Among others, the predecessor classes F125 and F124 were already equipped with Renk equipment. Renk can refer to a long partnership with Damen Naval, for example, in the construction of frigates and offshore patrol vessels for the navies of:

  • the Netherlands
  • Mexico
  • Morocco
  • Indonesia

The new propulsion system is expected to provide a top speed of over 26 knots through combined diesel-electric propulsion.

Renk’s transmissions connect one diesel engine simultaneously with each of the two drive shafts. The company supplies both the gearbox and the electric traction motors with the Renk Advanced Electric Drive. According to Damen, the units can then drive the propellers individually or in parallel. This propulsion concept is used for the first time in the German Navy.

JH