Under an initial deal in 1999, the South African Navy (SAN) was to receive five units of the class. However, budget constraints limited the initial purchase to the four units that have been delivered thus far.
Defense Minister Mosiuoa Lekota has indicated that the original deal with Germany, which included the frigates and military equipment for the Army and Air Force, is almost paid off and the Defense Ministry could now move forward with additional procurements. Pricing will likely play a big role as to whether the SAN gets one or two additional units.
Under the original agreement, each unit cost $163 million, not including the South African weaponry and integration costs. Recent estimates are that units five and six will cost around $272 million per unit, without weapons and integration.
Assuming the successful conclusion of negotiations between the SAN and the German Frigate Consortium, a construction contract for the fifth unit with options for a sixth could be in place by 2007. The additional units are likely to be identical to the first four units of the class.
The first two units (Amatola and Isandlwana) were commissioned into the SAN as of August 2006; units three and four (Spioenkop and Mendi) are scheduled for commissioning in March and August 2007.
