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Visby-class corvette

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Visby class corvette
File:HMS Visby and HMS Helsingborg.jpg
General characteristics Swedish Navy Ensign
Displacement: 650 tonnes
Length: 72 m
Beam: 10.4 m
Draft: 2.5 m
Hull material: Sandwich construction carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP)
Propulsion: 2 KaMeWa Waterjets, powered by:
  • High-speed machinery: 4 Honeywell gas turbines, total rating 16 MW
  • Low-speed machinery: 2 MTU diesel engines, total rating 2.6 MW
Speed: 35+ knots
Range:
Complement: 43
Sensors:
  • 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
Armament:
  • 1 × 57 Mk3
  • 8 × RBS15 Mk2 AShM
  • 4 × 400 mm tubes for Type 43/45 torpedoes
  • Countermeasure launchers
  • mines
Command & Control System: 9LV CETRIS (C4I)

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 127mm 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) had been shortened to fit in the projected hangar.

Launch Dates

See also

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