Feature 4 | GERMANY
The auxiliary repair ship Elbe steams through the Baltic during a recent BATLOPS exercise
with the ships receiving the Raytheon diesel engines and a gas turbine generating and Nordsweewerke as well as Friedrich
RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missile up to 32MW to give a top speed of around Lürssen Werft , with the lead ship being
(ESSM) and probably Bofors RBS-15 26knots and a range of 4000 nautical miles commissioned in May 2007 and the last
Mk 3Plus anti-ship missiles, possibly (7400 kilometres) at 18knots. in November of this year.
with land-attack capability, which are Th e armament fi t will include an Oto Th e 1840tonne ships are designed to
also scheduled for the Braunschweig Melara 127mm 64 calibre gun with meet requirements for both national
(K130) class corvettes. They will also Vulcano extended range ammunition and out of area operations but German
receive the Link 16 standard data link and the Italian company will also provide reports indicate they are proving a
which will also be introduced into the five Hitrole NT weapon stations for disappointment. It is claimed that
other frigates. each ship in addition to MLG 27. RAM on trials they have failed to achieve
However, these vessels will only partly surface-to-air missiles will also be carried their maximum speed of 26knots, and
meet the Bundesmarine’s requirements but there remains some uncertainty problems have been reported with
and the German Defence Ministry ordered about the complete missile fi t although cooling electronics, with diesel exhaust
in June 2007 four F125 class frigates at a ESSM remains probable. The combat fumes and with fl ight deck operations
cost of €2 billion ($2.79 billion) from the management system will be provided while the lack of a bow thruster has also
consortium ARGE F125 (Th yssenKrupp by EADS Defence & Security Systems, proved a problem.
Marine Systems and Friedrich Lürssen ships will also receive the Diehl BGT FGS Braunschweig has demonstrated
Werft). ThyssenKrupp will use the Simone electro-optical search system. the ability to operate out of German waters
Blohm & Voss yard at Hamburg and The programme was scheduled to by exercising with the Italian Navy in
the Nordseewerke in Emden, while the being in 2013 but to maintain a healthy April, but German press reports indicate
Pennewerft yard in Wolgast will also shipbuilding industry the government the Naval Chief-of-Staff opposes plans to
be used. brought forward the programme with order a second batch.
Th e new frigates will be designed for steel work this year and deliveries from Th eir reported €300 million unit cost
multi-national and joint military missions, 2013 to 2017. is another reason for his disquiet and it
including maritime stabilisation, defence The fast attack craft force has been appears that the Bundesmarine is seeking
against asymmetric threats, ground halved since the Berlin Wall came down six ships of a larger design, the K131,
support, special operations and evacuation and is now down to 10 Leopard (S143A) formerly known as Mücke (Mosquito),
missions, and will be able to deploy for up class ships but they are no longer relevant with a helicopter hanger, but the
to two years in an operational area. to current maritime requirements and programme is unlikely to start for at least
The F125 class will be 143m long, they are scheduled to be paid off between fi ve years due to capacity problems at the
with a beam of 18.4m, a draft of 5m 2010 and 2012. Th ey are scheduled to be yards and the F125 programme.
and a displacement of 6800tonnes. At replaced by the fi ve Braunschweig class Germany has always had a leading role
a time when many navies are looking at corvettes being built by the usual means in underwater warfare and especially
all-electric ships the Germans remain of a consortium - this time a consortium in submarines. The eight U206A class
conservative, and the F125 will feature four of Th yssenkrupp Marine’s Blohm & Voss submarines enjoyed an extensive upgrade
28 Warship Technology July/August 2008
WWTJul-Aug08_p26+28+30.indd Sec2:28TJul-Aug08_p26+28+30.indd Sec2:28 77/22/08 7:25:20 PM/22/08 7:25:20 PM
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