NVL: Construction starts on German Navy’s second Type 424 intelligence vessel

September 5, 2025, by Fatima Bahtić

German shipbuilding major Naval Vessels Lürssen (NVL) has held a steel-cutting ceremony for the second Type 424 intelligence vessel being built for the German Navy.

As informed, the ceremony took place on September 4, 2025, at the Peene-Werft shipyard in Wolgast. The event was attended by representatives of the German Armed Forces as well as representatives of all NVL and Lürssen shipyards involved in the project.

NVL is starting construction for the second ship several months earlier than planned. and just ten months after the start of construction of the first ship. The keel for the vessel was laid in February this year.

NVL lays keel for German Navy’s first Type 424 intelligence ship

Vessels

The aim of the company was to respond “to the current geopolitical challenges and the corresponding urgent need to accelerate defence procurement projects”, Tim Wagner, CEO of NVL, emphasized.

“We were able to adjust successfully by providing a high degree of flexibility, and by establishing a close and trusting collaboration between all stakeholders involved in the project – particularly with regards to our contracting authority, the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw),” he noted.

The Type 424 intelligence vessels are approximately 130 meters long and equipped with a modern sensor suite. They will serve the German Armed Forces as maritime surveillance and reconnaissance platforms for information gathering. According to the company, their design meets the latest military requirements for future-proof naval vessels.

This initiative is part of a €3.3 billion project aimed at constructing three signals intelligence (SIGINT) and reconnaissance vessels, which will replace the aging Oste-class ships that have been in service since the late 1980s.

In June 2021, BAAINBw signed a contract with Lürssen Werft (now NVL Group) for the design and construction of the three boats.