Braunschweig-class corvette

Ludwigshafen am Rhein in 2016
Class overview
Operators:	German Navy  Israeli Navy
Preceded by:	Gepard class
Subclasses:	Sa'ar 6 class
Cost:	€FXConvert/Wordify error: cannot parse value "Template:FXConvert/Scale" (2001) per ship (Batch 1) €FXConvert/Wordify error: cannot parse value "Template:FXConvert/Scale" (2017) per ship (Batch 2)
Built:	2004–present
In commission:	2008–present
Planned:	10
Building:	4
Completed:	6
Active:	5
General characteristics
Type:	Corvette
Displacement:	1,840 t (1,810 long tons)
Length:	89.12 m (292 ft 5 in)
Beam:	13.28 m (43 ft 7 in)
Draft:	3.4 m (11 ft 2 in)
Propulsion:	2 MTU 20V 1163 TB 93 diesel engines producing 14.8MW, driving two controllable-pitch propellers.
Speed:	26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph)
Range:	4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)[1]
Endurance:	7 days; 21 days with tender[2]
Complement:	65 : 1 commander, 10 officers, 16 chief petty officers, 38 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems:	Cassidian TRS-3D (Batch 1) or TRS-4D (Batch 2) multifunction Passive electronically scanned array C-Band radar 2 navigation radars MSSR 2000 i IFF system MIRADOR electro-optical sensors UL 5000 K ESM suite Link 11 and Link 16 communications
Electronic warfare & decoys:	2 × TKWA/MASS (Multi Ammunition Softkill System) decoy launcher UL 5000 K ECM suite
Armament:	Guns; 1 × OTO Melara 76 mm gun[2][3] 2 × Mauser BK-27 autocannons Anti-ship; 4 × RBS-15 Mk.3 anti-ship missiles Close-In Weapon System: 2 × RAM Block II launchers, 21 missiles each Mine laying capability; 2 mine racks of 34 naval mines Mk 12
Aircraft carried:	Helicopter pad and hangar for two Saab Skeldar

The K130 Braunschweig class (sometimes Korvette 130) is Germany 's newest class of ocean-going corvettes. Five ships have replaced the Gepard-class fast attack craft of the German Navy.

In October 2016 it was announced that a second batch of five more corvettes, originally to be procured from 2022–2025 but now reportedly delayed.^[4][5] The decision was in response to NATO requirements expecting Germany to provide a total of four corvettes at the highest readiness level for littoral operations by 2018, and with only five corvettes just two can be provided.^[6]

Technical details

They feature reduced radar and infrared signatures ("stealth" beyond the capabilities of those of the Sachsen-class frigates), and will be equipped with two helicopter UAVs for remote scouting. The German Navy ordered a first batch of two UMS Skeldar V-200 systems for the use on the Braunschweig-class corvettes.^[7] The hangar is too small for standard helicopters, but the pad is large enough for Sea Kings, Lynx, or NH-90s, the helicopters of the German Navy.^{[citation needed]}

Originally, the K130 class was supposed to be armed with the naval version of the Polyphem missile, an optical fiber-guided missile with a range of 60 km (37 mi), which at the time was under development. The Polyphem program was cancelled in 2003 and instead the designers chose to equip the class with the RBS-15. While the RBS-15 has a much greater range of 250 km (160 mi), the current version mounted on the ships, Mk3, lacks the ECM-resistant video feedback of the Polyphem. The German Navy had ordered the RBS-15 Mk4 in advance, which is a development of the Mk3 with increased range —400 km (250 mi)— and a dual seeker for increased resistance to electronic countermeasures.^[8] The RBS-15 Mk3 has the capability to engage land targets.^[9]

Difficulty of classification

Vessels of this class do not have an executive officer (German: Erster Offizier). Traditionally, in the German Navy, this was used as a rule to classify a vessel as a boat, not a ship. In a press release, the German Navy stated that these corvettes will be called ships nonetheless because of their size, armament, and endurance.^[10] The commanding officer wields the same disciplinary power as a German Army company commander, not that of a battalion commander as is the case with the larger German warships such as frigates.^[11] However, in size, armament, protection, and role, these corvettes resemble modern antisurface warfare light frigates, the main difference being the total absence of any antisubmarine warfare related sensors or weapons.^{[citation needed]}

Contracting

The contract for first five ships was awarded in December 2001 Blohm+Voss, at that time owned by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, Nordseewerke, and Friedrich Lurssen Werft. The first ship, the Braunschweig, built at Blohm+Voss, was launched in April 2006 and was commissioned in April 2008. The second ship was commissioned in 2008.^[12] The final three ships in Batch I were commissioned in 2013.^[13] Severe problems with the gearing provided by MAAG GmbH of Winterthur, Switzerland , delayed the commissioning of the corvettes. Further issues occurred with the air-conditioning system and exposure to toxins from exhaust and missile systems.^[14]

In May 2015, the Israeli government ordered four Sa'ar 6-class corvettes, whose design by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems will be loosely based on that of the Braunschweig-class corvette,^[15] but with engineering changes to render the baseline platform more militarily robust.^[16]

In April 2017, the German government announced a contract for a further five ships to the same group as before, but the process under which it had been awarded was challenged at the German Federal Cartel Office by the German Naval Yards and the contract was voided in May.^[17][18]

In September 2017, the German Navy commissioned the construction of five more corvettes in a consortium of North German shipyards. Lürssen will be the main contractor in the production of the vessels. The contract is worth around 2 billion euros.^[18][19] In April 2018, the German government announced the specific arrangements under which the five new K130s would be built.^[20][21]

Plans to build a third batch (i.e. ships 11–15) are under consideration, ships from the first batch (i.e. ships 1–5) would be decommissioned from 2025 and sold to a NATO ally in order to avoid modernization costs.^[22]

In September 2022 it was reported that increasing difficulties in integrating the command and control systems for the Batch 2 ships had resulted in a cost growth of 401 million Euros and at least a two year delay for the completion of the lead Batch 2 vessel, and potentially cascading delays for the next two ships in the Batch 2 program as well.^[4]

Ships in class

The ships were not built at a single shipyard; sections were constructed at different locations at the same time and later married together. The table lists the yard where the keel-laying ceremonies were held. Due to the decommissioning of the Gepard class, five additionally being constructed from 2019–2025.^[23]

Images

• 

  Braunschweig

• 

  Magdeburg

• 

  Oldenburg

• 

  Ludwigshafen am Rhein

See also

• Steregushchiy-class corvette
• List of naval ship classes in service

References

Bibliography

• Warship International Staff (2007). "First of the German K 130 Class". Warship International XLIV (4): 364–365. ISSN 0043-0374. 

External links

• Korvette Braunschweig-Klasse @ Marine (official homepage of the German Navy)
• Manufacturer's website

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