Visby class
 The Härnösand in Hamburg
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The Visby- class is a class of corvettes in the Swedish Navy . The ships in the class are named after Swedish cities . The lead ship bears the name of the city of Visby . The ships were built by Kockums in Malmö .
The first ship was launched in June 2000 and was delivered to the Swedish Armed Forces Service for Materials Procurement in June 2002, where it was equipped with weapons and weapon systems. All five ships have now been taken over by the Swedish Navy for trial operations, but only two have been put into service. The first four ships will be designed primarily for fighting mines and for submarine hunting . The last one, the Karlstad , takes on a conventional role in the fight against surface units. For this purpose it was equipped with a helicopter landing deck and hangar.
protection
The Visby class caused an international sensation due to its camouflage properties : The design minimizes optical and infrared, surface and hydroacoustic, hydroelectric, magnetic and pressure signature of the ship, radar reflection and less active scattered radiation ( stealth ship ). A Visby corvette can be located over a distance of 13 km in rough seas and 22 km in calm seas. With interference equipment, the detection distance is reduced to 8 km in rough seas and 11 km in calm seas.
The ships are equipped with camouflage paint to reduce optical detection. The barrel of the 5.7 cm gun can be retracted to further reduce the radar signature .
The hull of the ships consists of a PVC core, which is surrounded by a laminate of carbon fibers and PVC. The material ensures a low weight with high tensile strength and flexural rigidity, good shock elasticity as well as a low radar signature and a small magnetic signature.
To protect against sea mines, the ships are equipped with a system for actively combating individual mines.
Weapon system
The CETRIS-C3 system consists of the SaabTech-Vectronics 9LV Mk3E combat command system , the MAST decision support and the integrated communication system. In addition, the SaabTech CEROS 200 radar and optronic fire control system was commissioned for the Visby, which will be fully integrated into the combat management system.
The communication system developed by the Danish company Maersk Data Defense together with Karlskrona has a high-capacity interface for digital communication that connects voice and data communication channels. The system provides internal communication or open conference calls as well as access to external connections at various radio frequencies and land-based networks.
Armament
The ships of the Visby class are not equipped with a missile system for air defense at the shipyard. However, systems such as the Saab Dynamics RBS 23 BAMSE or the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile can be retrofitted later. The corvettes have eight Saab Dynamics RBS15 anti-ship missiles . These are installed below deck and shot down through special hatches so as not to impair the stealth properties of the ship. The rockets' exhaust plumes are diverted into separate ducts.
For the fight against submarines, the Visby class has a set of ASW 12.7 cm RPG launchers, depth charges and torpedoes . Four 40 cm torpedo tubes for Type 45 anti-submarine torpedoes with target search function are installed on board. Saab Dynamics is developing the ALECTRO multi-purpose turret for the Visby class. This launcher makes it possible to shoot down anti-submarine weapons as well as scatter and infrared decoys (among other things as a countermeasure for torpedo attacks).
The Visby- class is armed with a Bofors 5.7 cm general-purpose gun 70 SAK Mark III. This gun has a fully automatic loading device with 120 rounds of ready-to-use ammunition . It fires 220 rounds per minute at a distance of 17 km.
The Visby- class ships carry Saab Underwater System ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles) for mine detection and Atlas Elektronik Seafox ROVs for mine clearance. The minesweeper ROVs are a further development of the Double Eagle Mk III. The mine clearance ROVs are designed for one-time use, they do not destroy a mine by detonating the mine charge sympathetically, but by direct fire with a shaped charge.
Sensors
The Ericsson 3D C-band multipurpose radar Sea Giraffe AMB provides air and sea reconnaissance, as well as target tracking and recognition for the weapon systems. It has 3D agile multi-beam technology and can be used against multiple threats at an altitude of up to 20 km with an elevation of up to 70 °. The capabilities of the ECCM (Electronic Counter Countermeasures) include ultra-low frequency antennas as well as frequency and code agility. The antenna has a rotation speed of 30 rotations / minute for reconnaissance and 60 rotations / minute for air defense.
The Visby class also has an I-band radar for surface search and an I / J-band fire control radar .
The corvettes are also equipped with the Hydra Multi- Sonar from Computing Devices Canada (CDC), which transmits the data of a passive towing sonar (TAS), an active dual-frequency depth change sonar (VDS), a fuselage-mounted sonar and the ROVs (see above ) connects.
The CS-3701 Tactical Radar Surveillance System (TRSS) from EDO Reconnaissance & Surveillance Systems provides electronic support measures (ESM) and radar warning reception (RWR). The MASS decoys launch system from Rheinmetall is also part of the Visby class : it can launch up to 32 omni-spectral projectiles against anti-ship missiles and guided projectiles with a time delay. The MASS deception system covers radar, infrared, electro-optic, laser and ultraviolet reconnaissance.
Ships of the class
- Visby (K31), launched in 2000
- Helsingborg (K32), launched in 2003, commissioned: December 16, 2009
- Härnösand (K33), launched in 2004, commissioned: December 16, 2009
- Nyköping (K34), launched in 2005
- Karlstad (K35), launched in 2006
- Uddevalla (K36), option not taken
future
Since the maritime concept of Swedish security policy has so far only provided for the protection of its own waters close to the coast, the design of the Visby class was also designed for the area that includes patrol activities within Swedish territorial waters. The innovative ship type lacks an offshore component entirely . The challenges that the manufacturer could be faced with in the future are diverse: On the one hand, Swedish defense policy could change in such a way that it wants to become more involved in international crisis management. On the other hand, there is likely to be a high level of interest on the world market in stealth ships of medium size and affordable procurement costs, but at the same time the ability to be deployed worldwide. As a result, the manufacturer Kockums and its parent company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems developed a concept that was supposed to meet these requirements.
It currently ranks under the official name Visby Plus and envisages a model with a carbon fiber hull in a similar size to the German corvette K130, i.e. around 1,500 tons , 88 m in length and a crew of 71. It should have a propulsion system for four marine diesel engines of 7,400 kW each, which will drive just as many water jet propulsion systems . A landing platform for helicopters should also be provided. His range of duties includes submarine hunting , surface warfare , air defense and patrol duty . To implement this concept, a close cooperation between the two groups is sought, with Kockums being responsible for the manufacture of the ship itself and TKMS for equipping it with weapons and ship technology.
See also
Web links
- BBC article (Engl.)
- Swedish Navy side (swed.)
- The Visby class at naval-technology.com (engl.)
- The Visby class at marine-portraits.de ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )