A German submarine. (symbol image)Image: keystone
July 6, 2026, 10:45 p.mJuly 6, 2026, 10:45 p.m
Billion-dollar order from Canada before the NATO summit: The Kiel naval shipbuilder TKMS is to deliver up to twelve submarines to North America. As Prime Minister Mark Carney announced in Halifax, Canada is committed to cooperation with Germany.
The German manufacturer beat out a South Korean competitor in the deal that secures jobs on the Baltic Sea coast. Carney announced the decision before his departure for the alliance summit in Ankara.
The federal government had repeatedly supported the deal with a view to jointly deterring Russia and the security situation in the Atlantic and the Arctic. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius alone traveled to Canada several times for talks, most recently in May.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.Image: keystone
For TKMS, it is the largest submarine order in the company’s history. Canada will receive Type 212CD submarines from the shipyard. Germany and Norway developed this model for joint use. The letters “CD” stand for the common design. This similarity in construction is intended to reduce costs and enable easy collaboration, which Canada is now joining as the third major partner.
“We want to ensure security side by side in the North Atlantic, the Far North and yes also the Arctic,” Pistorius said during a visit to a Canadian arms and security conference. This is about protecting communication and trade routes across the Atlantic as well as possible alliance supply routes.
The SPD politician also said: “It’s about a strategic partnership with Canada.” Discussions are ongoing in the background about extensive counter-deals as part of an overall package that is intended to strengthen German-Canadian economic relations.
Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.Image: keystone
Canada currently sources around 80 percent of its military supplies from the USA. However, the relationship has been heavily strained since US President Donald Trump took office again. In addition to tariffs, the relationship is also strained by Trump’s repeatedly expressed desire to incorporate Canada as the 51st federal state.
There was tough competition before the decision
In recent weeks and months, the defense company TKMS has intensified its advertising in competition with the Korean provider Hanwha Ocean and announced various collaborations with Canadian companies in order to increase its own chances. TKMS boss Oliver Burkhard was already confident when the half-year figures were presented in May: “I assume that we will win this.”
Neither Canada nor TKMS provided information on the order volume. According to information from the German Press Agency, this is likely to amount to around 20 billion euros for the submarines alone including service. Including maintenance and operation, the financial volume for the next few decades will be 100 billion Canadian dollars (around 62 billion euros), Canadian media reported.
Boats are to be built in Kiel and Wismar
TKMS is one of the world’s leading companies in the construction of non-nuclear submarines. According to previous information from TKMS, Canada wants to put the first new boats into operation by 2035 at the latest. Recently, however, there were indications that the first delivery could take place earlier.
The shipyard wants to build the high-tech boats both at its headquarters in Kiel and in the second shipyard in Wismar in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The company wants to create up to 1,500 jobs there. According to its own information, the company has more than 9,100 employees, including around 3,300 in Kiel. In addition to Kiel and Wismar, another location is Itajaí in Brazil.
The company’s order books were already well filled before the record order from overseas. The shipyard benefits from the persistently high demand for defense equipment. In the first half of the financial year – from October 2025 to March 2026 – the order backlog reached 20.6 billion euros. That was already a new high. This meant that TKMS was already at full capacity until the 2040s.
New submarine class
The order increases the number of orders for the new 212CD class to 24. The shipyard is already building six submarines each for Germany and Norway.
Germany currently uses six submarines of the predecessor class 212A, which are 56 meters long. The new submarines, on the other hand, will be around 72 meters long. The new class has improved sensors for detecting possible opponents under and on the water. The boats will sail with 30 crew members each. According to TKMS, they are specifically designed for use in the Arctic and under ice.
Sales are growing at TKMS – major investments
In the first half of the 2025/26 financial year, sales at TKMS rose by ten percent to 1.17 billion euros because orders were fulfilled according to plan. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes increased by 14 percent to 60 million euros. The bottom line is that TKMS earned 27 million euros, which corresponded to a decrease of 41 percent. The decline in profits is the result of investments in the expansion of the company, for example in research and development and sales. (sda/dpa)