Visby-class corvette

HMS Helsingborg K32
Class overview
Builders	Kockums
Operators	Swedish Navy
In commission	8 June 2000
Planned	6
Completed	5
Cancelled	1
Active	MS Visby HMS Helsingborg HMS Härnösand HMS Nyköping HMS Karlstad
General characteristics
Displacement	650 tonnes
Length	72.2m
Beam	10.4m
Draft	2.5m
Propulsion	CODAG 2 × KaMeWa Waterjets 4 × Honeywell TF 50 A gas turbines, total rating 16 MW 2 × MTU Friedrichshafen 16V 2000 N90 diesel engines, total rating 2.6 MW
Speed	40+ Knots
Complement	27 Officers 16 Conscripts
Sensors and processing systems	Ericsson Sea Giraffe ABM 3D surveillance radar Ceros 200 Fire control radar system Condor CS-3701 Tactical Radar Surveillance System Hull-mounted sonar Towed array sonar system Variable depth sonar
Electronic warfare & decoys	Rheinmetall Waffe Munition MASS (Multi-Ammuntion Softkill) decoy system
Armament	1 × 57 Mk3 8 × RBS15 Mk2 AShM 16 × UMKHONTO-IR SAM missile 4 × 400 mm tubes for Type 43/45 torpedoes Mines & Depth charges
Aviation facilities	Helicopter Pad

The Visby is the latest class of corvette to be adopted by the Swedish Navy, the ship's design heavily emphasizes "low visibility" or Stealth technology. The first ship in the class is named after Visby, the main city on the island of Gotland. The ships are built by Kockums in Karlskrona and have undergone extensive testing. The class has received widespread international attention because of its status as a Stealth ship and its network-centric capabilities.

It is made from Carbon fiber (see also the Oceanic-Creations spin-off), and its angular design reduces its radar signature (or radar cross section). Its 57 mm cannon barrel can also be folded into the turret to further reduce its cross section.

History

Much of the design was based on the experiences learned from the experimental ship HMS Smyge. The class was originally designed to be divided into two subcategories where some ships were optimized for surface combat and others for submarine hunting, however this was changed due to cutbacks. Other cutbacks have been the cancellation of the 127 mm ALECTO ASW rocket system and the use of Mk I RBS15 missiles upgraded to Mk II configuration rather than the latest Mk III.

A helicopter hangar was originally planned but was considered to be too cramped and was deleted. However, the new navy helicopters Hkp15B (Agusta A109) have been shortened to fit in the projected hangar.

As of yet the only weapon system that has been integrated and tested on the Visby is the gun. Torpedo integration and tests are expected to be carried out during 2008. UMKHONTO-IR Surface to Air missiles have been selected for the ships but due to government budget squabbles they have not been ordered yet, preparations for their installment are underway nevertheless.

The Swedish navy announced in the spring of 2008 that the Mk3 version of the RBS15 missile will be used on the Visby Class.

Units

Bow number	Ship name	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Service	Status
K31	HMS Visby	17 February 1995	8 June 2000		3rd Naval Warfare Flotilla	PTK Visby*
K32	HMS Helsingborg		27 June 2003		3rd Naval Warfare Flotilla	PTK Visby*
K33	HMS Härnösand		16 December 2004		3rd Naval Warfare Flotilla	PTK Visby*
K34	HMS Nyköping		18 August 2005		3rd Naval Warfare Flotilla	PTK Visby*
K35	HMS Karlstad		24 August 2006		3rd Naval Warfare Flotilla	PTK Visby*
K36	HMS Uddevalla					Cancelled

*PTK Visby is the designation of the formation doing system tests and readying the ships for active service within the Swedish Navy, 2008 two ships are part of the formation, HMS Härnösand and HMS Nyköping. The formation is under the 3rd Naval Warfare Flotilla but takes its orders from FMV. The System tests are taking a long time partly because the government is allocating to little funds, and partly because its a cutting edge platform of which not very much is known.

Gallery

• A pair of Visby class corvettes (HMS Visby and HMS Helsingborg)
  A pair of Visby class corvettes (HMS Visby and HMS Helsingborg)

See also

• Swedish Navy
• Corvette

External links

• BBC article
• FMV - Official homepage
• Kockums - Official homepage
• Swedish navy page on the Visby trials Template:Sv