German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius wants to purchase four submarines in a deal worth over 4.7 billion euros.

Axar.az reports that citing Reuters, this must be put to a parliamentary spending committee for approval.

In a request submitted to the committee, the ministry says the acquisition is needed for Germany to fulfil new NATO requirements for better protection of the alliance’s northern flank.

The ministry is seeking to procure four more submarines of the type U212CD, manufactured by Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems.

“We are paying particular attention to the proposal to purchase additional submarines due to its importance in terms of security policy, but also because of the high amount of funds required,” Karsten Klein, member of the budget committee from the Free Democrats (FDP), said.