German corvette Braunschweig

Braunschweig-class corvette

Braunschweig sails from Hamburg, Germany on December 11, 2006 for her first voyage.

History
Germany
Name| Braunschweig
Namesake| Braunschweig
Port of registry| Hamburg, Germany
Ordered| December 2001
Builder| Blohm+Voss, Hamburg
Cost| €240 million
Laid down| 3 December 2004
Launched| 19 April 2006
Commissioned| 16 April 2008
Homeport| Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Identification|

* MMSI number: 211910000
* Callsign: DRBA
* Pennant number: F260

Status| Active
General characteristics
Type| Braunschweig-class corvette
Displacement| 1,840 tonnes (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) 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 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 UMS Skeldar V-200

Braunschweig (F260) is the lead ship of the Braunschweig-class corvette of the German Navy.

## Development

[edit]

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.

The ships feature reduced radar and infrared signatures ("stealth" beyond the Sachsen-class frigates) and will be equipped with two helicopter UAVs for remote sensing. The German Navy ordered a first batch of two UMS Skeldar V-200 systems for the use on the Braunschweig-class corvettes.[4] The hangar is too small for standard helicopters, but the pad is large enough for the Sea King, Lynx, and NH-90 helicopters operated by the German Navy.

The German Navy has ordered the RBS-15 Mk4 anti-ship missiles in advance, which will be a future development of the Mk3 with increased range —400 km (250 mi)— and a dual seeker for increased resistance to electronic countermeasures.[5] The RBS-15 Mk3 has the capability to engage land targets.[6]

In October 2016 the German Government announced that a second batch of five frigates is to be procured from 2022–2025.[7] 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.[8]

## Construction

[edit]

Braunschweig was laid down on 3 December 2004 and launched on 19 April 2006 in Hamburg. She was commissioned on 16 April 2008.[9]

## Operation

[edit]

Braunschweig and the Indonesian corvette KRI Bung Tomo conducted a joint exercise, as part of UNIFIL, on 24 June 2017.[10]

On 19 August 2020, Braunschweig served as a platform for shipborne trials of two UMS Skeldar V-200 UAVs.[11]

On August 16th 2024, she was towed up the Thames in London, and moored alongside HMS Belfast.[12]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Corvette Braunschweig Handed Over" (Press release). ThyssenKrupp AG. 30 January 2008. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
2. ^ a b "Korvette "Braunschweig"-Klasse (K 130)" (in German). German Navy. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
3. ^ "K130 Braunschweig Class Corvette - German Navy". Navyr ecognition. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
4. ^ BAAINBw Procures New Helicopter Drones for the Navy, Baainbw, 27 September 2018, retrieved 2 March 2019.
5. ^ "de:Neue Aufgaben der Marine mit moderner Ausrüstung" (in German). German Navy. 17 May 2004. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
6. ^ German Navy K130 Corvettes Ready for Saab RBS-15 Mk3 Anti-Ship Missiles, Navy recognition, 8 June 2016.
7. ^ "Fünf neue Korvetten für die Bundeswehr", Faz.
8. ^ "German Navy to Get Five More K130 Braunschweig-class Corvettes", Navy recognition, 14 November 2016.
9. ^ "K130 Braunschweig Class Corvette". Naval Technology. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
10. ^ "Angkatan Laut Jerman dan KRI Bung Tomo Latihan Pembekalan". www.jpnn.com (in Indonesian). 2017-06-24. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
11. ^ "German Navy begins shipborne trials of UMS Skeldar's V-200 UAV aboard K130 corvette". www.navyrecognition.com. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
12. ^ Samuel Montgomery (21 August 2024). "Watch: German navy warship plays Darth Vader theme on Thames". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 August 2024 - via MSN.

## Bibliography

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to F260 Braunschweig (ship, 2008).

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

* v
* t
* e

Braunschweig-class corvettes

German Navy|

| Batch 1|

* Braunschweig
* Magdeburg
* Erfurt
* Oldenburg
* Ludwigshafen am Rhein

|

Batch 2|

* Köln
* Emden
* Karlsruhe
* Augsburg
* Lübeck

Israeli Navy
Sa'ar 6|

* Magen
* Oz
* Atzmaut
* Nitzachon

* Preceded by: Gepard class (Germany), Sa'ar 5 (Israel)

List of active German Navy ships
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