F125 class frigate
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F125 is the project name for the Type 125 class of frigates, currently in development for the German Navy by ARGE F125, a joint-venture of Thyssen-Krupp and Lürssen. F125 is officially classified as frigates but in size and role they could be classified as destroyers.
In contrast to the Bremen class, which has been built with cold war scenarios in mind, the F125 will have much enhanced land-attack capabilities. This which will better suit frigates in possible future peacekeeping and peacemaking missions. For such reasons, the F125 will also mount non-lethal weapons.
Major design goals are reduced radar, infrared and acoustic signatures (stealth technology), something that was introduced to the German Navy with the Sachsen class frigate and was further developed with the Braunschweig class corvette, the first ship nearing completion.
Other important requirements are long maintenance periods: It should be able to deploy F125 class frigates for up to two years away from homeports with an average sea operation time of more than 5000 hours per year (that's nearly 60%). For this reason, a combined diesel-electric and gas arrangement has been chosen for the machinery. This allows the replacement of large and powerful diesel engines for propulsion and sets of smaller diesel generators for electric power generation with a pool of med-sized diesel generators, reducing the number of different engines.
To enhance survivability of the frigates, important systems are laid out in the two island principle, i.e. present at least twice at different places within the ship. This is also visible in the superstructures, which are split in two larger pyramidal deck houses. The arials of the phased array radar will be distributed over the two pyramids. This does not only ensure, the ships remains operational in case of larger damage because of accidents or enemy action, it also allows F125 frigates to keep station if needed when something breaks down and no replacement is available.
An initial batch of 4 frigates was to be ordered by the German Navy by late 2006. In light of other projects and potential plannings, the order has officially been postponed indefinitely for now though, and the program will come under review again in late 2007 [1]. The initial batch of 4 ships costs around 2.2 billion Euros. In April 2007, a contract with Finmeccanica was signed for delivery of Otobreda 127mm Volcano main guns as well as remote-controlled light gun turrets for the F125.[2]
The initially considered 155mm MONARC gun, as well as the naval GMLRS rocket launcher, were dropped due to problems with the navalization of these land-based systems.[3]
[edit] Preliminary Specifications
(Note that the final design may differ.)
- Length: 139m
- Beam: 18 m
- Draft: 5 m
- Displacement: around 5500t
- Propulsion: CODLAG
- 1 20MW gas turbine
- 2 4.7MW electric motors
- 4 2.9MW diesel generators
- 3 gearboxes: 2 for each shaft and one to crossconnect the gasturbines to them.
- 2 shafts, driving controllable pitch propellers
- Speed: 20kts on diesel only, 26—27kts max.
- Range: 4000nm
- 1 1MW bow thruster
- Sensors:
- 1 Phased array radar
- 2(?) navigation radars
- IFF mode S
- Sonar
- Laser warning
- FL1800S ESM suite
- Communications: Link 11, Link 16, Link 22
- Countermeasures:
- Armament:
- 8 anti-ship missiles, either RGM-84 Harpoon or RBS 15 Mk4
- 2 RAM surface-to-air missile launcher/CIWS, 21 cells each
- 1 127 mm lightweight Otobreda naval gun
- 4 27 mm MLG 27 autocannon
- 5 12.7 mm Hitrole-NT remote-controlled machine gun turrets
- 2 12.7 mm heavy machine guns (manually controlled)
- Water cannons
- Other equippement:
- 2 search lights
- Submarine ROVs
- 4 11 m dinghies, over 40kts fast
- Space for two 6.1 m container
- Hangar facility: 2 MH-90 helicopters
- Complement: 160 (including 50 KSK/commando)
[edit] References
- Soldat und Technik, 11/2005 (in German)
[edit] See also
| Ship classes of the Deutsche Marine | |
|---|---|
| Destroyers | 101A Hamburg | 103B Lütjens |
| Frigates and Corvettes | 122 Bremen | 123 Brandenburg | 124 Sachsen | F125 | 130 Braunschweig |
| Fast Attack Craft | 143 Albatros | 143A Gepard | 148 Tiger |
| Mine warfare | 332 Frankenthal | 333 Kulmbach | 352 Ensdorf | 742A Mühlhausen |
| Submarines | 205B | 206A | 212A |
| Auxiliary ships | 404 Elbe | 423 Oste | 441 Gorch Fock | 520 Barbe | 702 Berlin | 703 Walchensee | 704 Rhön | 720 Helgoland | 721 Eisvogel | 722 Wangerooge | 760 Westerwald |
