U212 CD is a joint project between the German and Norwegian navies to modernize their fleets by building six new state-of-the-art submarines.
Back in 2017, Norway has decided to enter into a close cooperation with Germany and thyssenkrupp Marine Systems to replace the submarines of their Ula-class. After intensive discussions and negotiations between the two countries as well as between their governments and the industry, the contract for development and procurement of the six submarines was placed in July 2021.
The new-to-build 212 CD class (for Common Design) has been developed by thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (tkMS) for this modernization program and is based on the previous Type 212 submarine class, but significantly larger with a length of 73 metres in comparison to the current Type 212A with 56 metres.
The ships are to be equipped with a new combat system called ORCCA, provided by kta naval systems, a consortium consisting of tkMS, Atlas Elektronik and Norwegian manufacturer Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace. This will enable the crews to analyse larger amounts of sensor data and will increase interoperability with allied forces.
HENSOLDT will contribute the visual system consisting of optronic as well as digital components.
HENSOLDT has received an order to equip the submarines with an optronic system, consisting of an OMS150 optronic mast system and an OMS300 for each of the new submarines. With this twin optronic mast solution, the navies opted for the technological leap from the traditional periscope system to a completely non-hull-penetrating digital system solution.
For the U212 CD class, the combination of OMS150 and OMS300 is being commissioned for the first time ever. While OMS150 in its multispectral version will be used as a search and surveillance optronic mast, the OMS300 stealth optronic mast takes over the so-called "attack" function. With OMS300, the engineers at HENSOLDT designed a mast that is hard to detect visually and via radar.