Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate


The Iver Huitfeldt class is a three-ship class of frigates that entered service with the Royal Danish Navy in 2012 and 2013.

Description

The class is built on the experience gained from the Absalon-class support ships, and by reusing the basic hull design of the Absalon class the Royal Danish Navy have been able to construct the Iver Huitfeldt class considerably cheaper than comparable ships.
The frigates are compatible with the Danish Navy's StanFlex modular mission payload system used in the Absalons, and are designed with slots for six modules. Each of the four stanflex positions on the missile deck is able to accommodate either the Mark 141 8-cell Harpoon launcher module, or the 12-cell Mark 56 ESSM VLS. The Peter Willemoes passed the British Flag Officer Sea Training test in 2015.
While the Absalon-class ships are primarily designed for command and support roles, with a large ro-ro deck, the three new Iver Huitfeldt-class frigates will be equipped for an air defence role with Standard Missiles, and the potential to use Tomahawk cruise missiles, a first for the Danish Navy.
The ships were constructed in blocks in Estonia and Lithuania. These blocks were then towed to the Odense Steel Shipyard where they were assembled.

Potential exports

Australia

The builder's successor, OMT, suggested the type for the Procurement programme of the Royal Australian Navy's frigates, but built in Australia and modified for anti-submarine warfare..
However OMT was not among the three warship designers shortlisted by Australia for the SEA 5000 frigate program in April 2016.

Canada

The Iver Huitfeldt class frigate was a contender in the Canadian Single Class Surface Combatant Project. However, it is believed that due to concerns over the fairness of the bidding process, two European shipbuilders, possibly Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and Odense Maritime Technology, declined to submit bids.

United Kingdom

In late May 2018 the consortium of Babcock International, BMT Group and Thales Group announced the "Arrowhead 140" design, based on the hull of the Iver Huitfeldt frigates, for the Royal Navy Type 31e frigate programme. It was announced on 12 September 2019 that the Arrowhead 140 design had been selected for the Type 31 Frigate.

Indonesia

In March 2019 a variant of Denmark's Iver Huitfeldt class has emerged as a front-runner for the Indonesian Navy's two-frigate acquisition programme according to Jane's.
The Indonesian Navy expects to purchase two Iver Huitfeldt-class frigates with a budget plan of US$ 720 Million for its MEF Phase 3 in 2020-2024. Indonesian officials and Ministry of Defense officials have held multiple meetings about the ships. As of 14 March 2019 there are advanced discussion between the Indonesian Ministry of Defense and Odense Maritime Technology about the technical issues and potential cooperation. Denmark has offered a scheme of "transfer of technology" to Indonesia, such as modular frigate building designed by BUMN PT PAL.
In February 2020, defense delegation from Indonesia visited Denmark, and toured the Niels Juel. According to local media, the deputy of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said in March that Indonesia’s PT PAL was tasked to develop a design for 2 ships over 5 years, for Rp1.1 trillion in collaboration with Denmark, for Indonesian Navy. And on April 30, representatives from the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, PT PAL shipbuilders and PT Sinar Kokoh Persada, an Indonesian agent for the Danish Odense Maritime Technology company, had agreed to an opening contract for the procurement of the Danish Frigate. Points in the contract include workshare arrangements that will be made after the effective contract can be realized.

Anti-air warfare

Most of the weapons for the three ships were reused from the previous Niels Juel-class corvette and the Flyvefisken-class patrol vessel. Other components were reused as well to keep the cost at a minimum.
These ships share their Anti-Air Warfare suite with the Royal Netherlands Navy's De Zeven Provinciën-class frigates and the German Navy's Sachsen-class frigates. The sensors of this suite include the long range surveillance radar SMART-L and the multi-function radar APAR active electronically scanned array. The SMART-L and APAR are highly complementary, in the sense that SMART-L is a L band radar providing very long range surveillance while APAR is an I band radar providing precise target tracking, a highly capable horizon search capability, and missile guidance using the Interrupted Continuous Wave Illumination technique, thus allowing guidance of 32 semi-active radar homing missiles in flight simultaneously, including 16 in the terminal guidance phase. The primary anti-air weapons are the point defence Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile and the area defence SM-2 IIIA. The Mk 41 Vertical Launch System is used to house and launch these missiles. Depending on the number of Harpoon launchers installed, up to 48 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile and 32 SM-2 IIIA may be carried.

List of ships

Similar ships