Algeria Signs EUR 2.5 Bln Contract with German Shipyard TKMS

23.03.2012 According to Periscope2 referred to Algerian sources, expecting the semicentenary of military procurement independence, Algeria turns eyes not to Paris or Moscow but other European capitals.

Having spent EUR 450 mln for Italian-made amphibious ship and modernized two ships in Spain, Algerian Navy is on the threshold of a contract with German shipyard TKMS which is affiliate of ThyssenKrupp concern.

Algeria is going to spend EUR 2.5 bln for two Meko-class frigates and six Super Lynx helicopters. The ships will be armed with pretty powerful weapons: Swedish anti-ship missiles RBS 15 MkIII, South African air defense system Umkhonto and air-to-ground missiles Mokopa, gun mounts Oto Melara and Rheinmetall, and German-made torpedoes.

However, such contract with the unstable country fighting against terror may bring problems to Berlin. After a decision to export 200 tanks Leopard 2A7 to Saudi Arabia and a diesel submarine to Israel, the contract with Algeria may provoke internal debates in Germany regarding military exports to "unethical" countries.

Overall sum of the contract may detonate controversies. According to a source in TKMS, price on Meko frigates for Algerians is twice as high as market value. That information was confirmed by representative of Algerian shipbuilding company ECRN in Mers-el-Kebir.

This deal is very important for TKMS; latest contract for its surface ships was tied with South Africa in 1999.