Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW), part of ThyssenKrupp, has christened the first of the second batch of 212A-class submarines built for the German Navy.

Named U 35, the 56m-long non-nuclear submarine has a displacement capacity of 1,450t and can accommodate a crew of 28.

It will be equipped with the air-independent fuel cell propulsion system, a communication system for Network Centric Warfare, an integrated German Sonar and Command and Weapon Control System, and an optronics mast.

The vessel’s low-noise skew-back propeller and a non-magnetic steel hull make it undetectable for information-gathering missions, sea-area monitoring or covert operations support.

The German Office for Military Technology and Procurement had signed a contract to deliver a further two 212A-class submarines in September 2006.

The Italian Navy has also awarded a contract for a second batch of the vessels.