Manufacturer catalog

Lurssen

Lurssen is a German shipbuilding manufacturer associated in this catalog with naval vessels built by Fr. Lurssen Werft and its later defence organization. The Bremen-Vegesack yard traces its origin to Friedrich Lurssen's 1875 boatbuilding workshop near Bremen, while its military-vessel line was separated as Naval Vessels Lurssen (NVL) in 2021 and transferred to Rheinmetall's naval systems business in 2026.

2 weapons

For weapons and naval platforms, Lurssen is most relevant as a long-running German shipyard group that built or coordinated small and medium naval vessels alongside yacht and special-vessel work. Official company history describes periods in which naval contracts occupied a major share of the yard's capacity, followed by a split between naval and yacht production and the later creation of a dedicated defence successor, NVL.

The cataloged Lurssen-attributed systems are German Navy surface platforms rather than missiles or land weapons. The Braunschweig-class / K130 corvette record captures the modern corvette program, including the second batch contracted to the ARGE K130 consortium with Lurssen as a leading participant. The Ensdorf class record captures an earlier mine-countermeasure vessel lineage connected to the Vegesack yard and later German Navy reserve, training, and presentation roles.

Naval shipbuildingCorvettes and patrol vesselsMine-countermeasure vesselsYacht and special-vessel construction

Notable Systems

Braunschweig-class / K130 corvette, Corvette class, Naval Systems

Braunschweig-class / K130 corvette

Corvette class

German Navy K130 corvettes are the main modern surface-combatant connection for this manufacturer; BAAINBw contracted a second five-ship batch through ARGE K130, with Lurssen identified as the lead member in catalog sources and later NVL/Rheinmetall material continuing the program.

Sources: BAAINBw: Neue Korvetten fuer die Bundeswehr beauftragt, Rheinmetall: NVL Subsidiary Profile, NVL: Corvettes
Ensdorf class mine-countermeasure vessel, Mine-countermeasure vessel class, Naval Systems

Ensdorf class mine-countermeasure vessel

Mine-countermeasure vessel class

The Ensdorf class connects Lurssen to German Navy mine-countermeasure construction and refit history; the cataloged lead ship was launched at Lurssen in Vegesack and the remaining class role is documented by Bundeswehr squadron material.

Sources: Historisches Marinearchiv: M 1094 Ensdorf, Bundeswehr: 3 Minesweeper Squadron

Manufacturer History

  1. Friedrich Lurssen founds the yard

    Friedrich Lurssen established a boatbuilding workshop in Aumund near Bremen, the origin point for the later Lurssen shipyard group.

    Sources: Lurssen: History

  2. Production shifts to Lemwerder

    Lurssen's history records the completion of its shift of shipbuilding work from Bremen-Vegesack to Lemwerder in the winter of 1985-1986, after production had increasingly moved there since 1980.

    Sources: Lurssen: History

  3. Naval and yacht production split

    With navy contracts occupying much of yard capacity, Lurssen created a dedicated yachtbuilding division while retaining naval work as a major production line.

    Sources: Lurssen: History

  4. NVL spun off from Lurssen

    Naval Vessels Lurssen was separated from Fr. Lurssen Werft to divide the yacht and defence divisions; Lurssen described NVL as the legal successor to its former defence division.

    Sources: Lurssen: History

  5. Rheinmetall takeover of NVL completed

    Rheinmetall completed its acquisition of NVL, including subsidiaries, after antitrust approvals; the former Lurssen military division became part of Rheinmetall's naval systems business.

    Sources: Rheinmetall: NVL Takeover Completed

Successors
Naval Vessels Lurssen (NVL), legal successor to Lurssen's former defence division from 2021 and acquired by Rheinmetall in 2026
Website links
Official Lurssen websiteLurssen historyNVL at Rheinmetall

The catalog label uses the ASCII spelling stored on connected weapon records. Lurssen's former defence division was separated as NVL in 2021 and acquired by Rheinmetall in 2026, so recent naval-program context may appear under NVL or Rheinmetall Naval Systems rather than the original Lurssen yard name.

Manufacturer Sources

  • Lurssen: HistoryPublisher: Lurssen | Note: Supports founding date and place, production moves, naval/yacht split, acquisition history, NVL spin-off, and Lurssen's 150-year company context. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Lurssen: ContactPublisher: Lurssen | Note: Supports the public headquarters address in Bremen-Vegesack. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Rheinmetall: NVL Takeover CompletedPublisher: Rheinmetall | Note: Supports the completed 2026 takeover of NVL, its status as the former military part of the Lurssen Group, antitrust approval, and the transition date of 2026-03-01. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Rheinmetall: NVL Subsidiary ProfilePublisher: Rheinmetall | Note: Supports NVL's Rheinmetall subsidiary context and the public milestone list that includes K130/Braunschweig-class corvettes. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • NVL: CorvettesPublisher: NVL | Note: Supports NVL corvette product context, including repeat German Navy order framing, displacement and length ranges, and mission fit for modern corvettes. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • BAAINBw: Neue Korvetten fuer die Bundeswehr beauftragtPublisher: BAAINBw | Note: Supports the second-batch K130 contract and ARGE K130 membership context for the Braunschweig-class corvette notable system. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Historisches Marinearchiv: M 1094 EnsdorfPublisher: Historisches Marinearchiv | Note: Supports the Ensdorf class buildyard context and timeline connection to Lurssen in Vegesack. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Bundeswehr: 3 Minesweeper SquadronPublisher: Bundeswehr | Note: Supports the current German Navy context for Ensdorf-class former MCM drone-control vessels and mine-countermeasure role descriptions. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Wikimedia Commons: Korvette Braunschweig F260 2895.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and licensing context for the Braunschweig-class corvette image used on this manufacturer page. | Accessed: 2026-07-11

Produced weapons

Category

Naval Systems

Warships, submarines, unmanned surface vessels, naval craft, and maritime combat systems.

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Braunschweig-class / K130 corvette, Corvette class, Naval Systems2008 Somali Piracy / Operation Atalanta, 2015 Various ConflictsBraunschweig-class / K130 corvetteCorvette classBuilt in: GermanyThe Braunschweig-class / K130 corvette is a German Navy coastal-warfare corvette class for shallow waters, maritime surveillance, and surface strike. Bundeswehr describes a 61-person crew, stealth shaping, RBS15 Mk3 anti-ship missiles, RAM point defense, and UNIFIL Maritime Task Force service off Lebanon; EUNAVFOR also documents Erfurt in Operation Atalanta counter-piracy escort duty.
Ensdorf class mine-countermeasure vessel, Mine-countermeasure vessel class, Naval Systems2015 Various ConflictsEnsdorf class mine-countermeasure vesselMine-countermeasure vessel classBuilt in: GermanyThe Ensdorf class is a German Type 352 mine-countermeasure vessel class rebuilt from Hameln-class hulls into drone-control boats for the Troika Plus mine-sweeping system. Its service history centers on controlling Seehund unmanned surface sweep boats, mine-countermeasure support to German and multinational naval tasks, and a later Bundeswehr role as training, recruiting, and command-support vessels.