Germany to deploy Berlin-class oiler, first Type 125 frigate for Indo-Pacific tour

The first-of-class Type 125 frigate, Baden-Württemberg , which will be deployed to the Indo-Pacific region in 2024. (TKMS)

The German Navy will deploy its first-of-class Baden-Württemberg (Type 125) frigate and its second Berlin (Type 702)-class combat support ship, Frankfurt Am Main , to the Indo-Pacific region in 2024.

Janes was able to confirm this with the Chief of the German Navy, Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaack, while he was in Singapore on 6 November.

The warship deployments are being made as part of the German federal government's effort to strengthen the rules-based international order and build closer defence relations with like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific region, Vice Adm Kaack said.

The two-ship task force will build upon the experience gathered by the German Navy's almost seven-month-long deployment of a Brandenburg (Type 123)-class frigate, Bayern , to the region in 2021.

Baden-Württemberg is a nearly 150 m frigate that displaces about 7,200 tonnes when fully loaded. It was commissioned by the German Navy in June 2019 and is one of four Type 125 frigates that have been inducted by the service.

The frigate's main weapon systems include a 127 mm naval gun, the RGM-84D Harpoon Block IC anti-ship missile, and the RIM-116C surface-to-air missile system.

Besides accommodating a crew of 126, the warship can also embark up to 50 additional service personnel and up to 20 aircrew. It can embark up to two Sea Lynx or NH90 helicopters.

Meanwhile, Frankfurt Am Main is the German Navy's second of three Berlin-class combat support ships. It has an overall length of 174 m and displaces about 20,000 tonnes at full load.