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Norway chooses French, German companies as candidate submarine suppliers

Xinhua, April 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Norway's Ministry of Defence said on Thursday it has chosen a French company and a German company as candidate suppliers of the Nordic country's new submarines.

The Ministry of Defence has concluded that the French company Direction des Constructions Navales Services (DCNS) and the German company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) are the strongest candidates if Norway decides to procure new submarines, the ministry said in a statement.

It said the decision was made "based on economic, industrial and military assessments" and it will "focus our future efforts towards these two companies and their respective national authorities."

"France and Germany are amongst the largest nations in Europe. A submarine cooperation with one of these nations will secure that Norway acquires the submarines we need, whilst contributing to Smart Defence and a more effective cooperation on defence materiel in NATO," Norway's Minister of Defence Ine Eriksen Soreide was quoted as saying.

DCNS and TKMS are the largest manufacturers of submarines in Western Europe and they have extensive experience in building advanced submarines and a large industrial capacity, according to the statement.

"Norway's approach is to base an potential acquisition on an existing submarine design. We want to avoid a large development project with the risk, uncertainty and cost such a project entails," Soreide said. "Our criteria is therefore that Norway's future submarines shall be built by a shipyard that has a long and continuous experience in building submarines."

Norway's six Ula-class submarines were commissioned between 1989-1992. The submarines were designed to last for 30 years, and will reach the end of their life in the mid-2020s.

The Norwegian Government decided in 2014 to investigate options for new submarines. This process is near its conclusion, and a recommendation is planned to be presented to the Norwegian government during 2016. Pending governmental decision, a formal procurement program will be presented to the Norwegian parliament for approval.

"It is important to emphasise that we are still in the planning phase, and we have yet to make a decision to go ahead with a procurement program, nor have we made a decision regarding a final supplier," Soreide said.

"Significant work remains before a procurement program can be presented to the Norwegian parliament," she added. Endite