Steel cut for German Navy’s third and final Type 424 intelligence vessel

April 17, 2026, by Fatima Bahtić

A steel-cutting ceremony for Germany’s third and final Type 424 intelligence vessel took place on April 16 at the Peene-Werft shipyard in Wolgast.

The ceremony, which was attended by representatives from the Bundeswehr (the German Armed Forces), was carried out much earlier than planned, according to Rheinmetall, a Düsseldorf-based technology group that recently took over NVL, the shipbuilder in charge of constructing the vessels.

The approximately 130-meter-long Type 424 intelligence vessels will serve the German Armed Forces as reconnaissance platforms for maritime-based intelligence gathering and are equipped with modern sensor technology. Their design meets the latest military requirements for future-proof naval ships, it was stated.

Once commissioned, the intelligence vessel will be used jointly by the German Navy and the Cyber and Information Domain Service (CIR).

“Beginning the steel cutting early means that all ships of this class are now under construction. This is far more than just a technical milestone—it is a strategic signal. In the current geopolitical security environment, which is changing faster than ever before, we, as an industrial partner, are doing our part to accelerate strengthening defence capabilities. Speed is now a security-relevant factor—and this is exactly what we are focussing on,” said Tim Wagner, CEO of Rheinmetall’s Naval Systems division.

To remind, in September last year, NVL held a steel-cutting ceremony for the second Type 424 intelligence vessel being built for the German Navy.

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

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.