The K130 Braunschweigclass is Germany's newest class of ocean-going corvettes. Five ships have replaced the of the German Navy. In October 2016 it was announced that a second batch of five more frigates is to be procured from 2022–25. 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.
Technical details
They feature reduced radar and infrared signatures and will be equipped with two helicopter UAVs for remote sensing. Recently, the German Navy ordered a first batch of two UMS Skeldar V-200 systems for the use on the Braunschweig-class corvettes. 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. 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, 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, the current version mounted on the ships, Mk3, lacks the ECM-resistant video feedback of the Polyphem. The German Navy has ordered the RBS-15 Mk4 in advance, which will be a future development of the Mk3 with increased range —— and a dual seeker for increased resistance to electronic countermeasures. The RBS-15 Mk3 has the capability to engage land targets.
Difficulty of classification
Vessels of this class do not have an executive officer. 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. The commanding officer wields the same disciplinary power as a German Armycompany commander, not that of a battalion commander as is the case with the larger German warships such as frigates. 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.
Contracting
The contract for first five ships was awarded in December 2001Blohm+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. The third three ships were commissioned in 2013. 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. In May 2015, the Israeli government ordered four s, whose design by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems will be loosely based on that of the Braunschweig-class corvette, but with engineering changes to render the baseline platform more militarily robust. 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. 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. In April 2018, the German government announced the specific arrangements under which the five new K130s would be built.
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 are additionally planned to be constructed from 2019–23.
