PHOTO GALLERY #39: Mk V Special Operations Craft of the Hellenic Navy

Hellenic Navy Mk V SOC in the Inspection of the Fleet by
the President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina
Sakellaropoulou on June 10, 2021.

This is a collection of photos that includes some photos I took about a year ago of the Mark (Mk) V special operations craft (SOC) when they were delivered prior their modernization and commissioning in the Hellenic Navy Fleet, and photos of the vessels in service today from the Hellenic Navy and Hellenic National Defence General Staff websites. The Mk V SOC (Special Operations Craft) is a marine security, patrol, and special forces insertion boat used by the United States Navy and manufactured by VT Halter Marine Inc (Gulfport, Mississippi). Its length is 25 meters, weighs 57 tons in operational configuration and achieves a speed greater than 50 knots (cruising speed about 30 knots). There are four mounts on board that can receive a variety of weapons including general purpose machine guns, mini-guns, heavy machine guns and automatic grenade launchers, providing 360 degrees of firing coverage. Stinger MANPADS, mini UAV and small military inflatable boats are carried also. 

PHOTO GALLERY #38: Erfurt, corvette of the German Navy

Erfurt (F262), corvette of the German Navy

This is another photo gallery from my visit to Kiel in 2019, on the first weekend of the 137th Kiel Week. The Kiel Week (German: Kieler Woche) or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The first weekend of the Kiel Week, the famous Naval Base of Kiel, opens its gates for just four hours per day, for thousands of tourists who are eager to visit the German Navy warships and dozens of foreign warships which visit the city of Kiel, to honor the Kiel Week. Among the German ships moored at the Base, was the third vessel of the Braunschweig-class (K130) corvettes, Erfurt (F262), a ship that was commissioned in 2013. Her sisters are Braunschweig, Magdeburg, Oldenburg, Ludwigshafen am Rhein while five more vessels of an improved batch are under construction, the Köln, Emden, Karlsruhe, Augsburg and Lübeck. Her length is about 89.1m, the beam 13.28m, while the displacement reaches the 2,000t. She features reduced radar and infrared signatures and are equipped with UMS Skeldar V-200 helicopter UAVs for remote sensing. The hangar is too small for standard helicopters, but the flight deck is large enough for Sea Kings, Lynx, or NH-90s, the helicopters of the German Navy. The ship is armed with one Leonardo 76mm dual purpose gun, two (2) Rheinmetall MLG 27 remote weapon 27mm gun systems, two (2) RAM Block II launchers, four (4) RBS-15 Mk 3 (Mk 4 in the near future) anti-ship missiles, Stinger MANPADS, a variety of machine guns and naval mines. The crew is about 65 people. Enjoy more than 90 photos of the warship!

INFOGRAPHICS #48: Characteristics of the frigate candidates for the Hellenic Navy's new frigate program and the interim solutions

By Lysimachos Samasitis

Photo: Nick Thodos

This post is about the characteristics of the frigate candidates for the Hellenic Navy's new frigate program and the interim solutions by country. The Navy’s frigate program amounts to €5 billion, and includes the construction of four new frigates, the upgrade of the existing four Hydra-class (MEKO-200HN) frigates and the provision of interim solution ships (at least two major surface combatants: new light frigates or second-hand frigates). The following tables are the result of an exceptional and difficult effort to capture the basic characteristics of the candidate frigates, both for main program (Table 1) and interim solution (Table 2) for the Greek naval program by Lysimachos Samasitis! The tables will be updated regularly based on the latest developments and updates from the manufacturers in order to be a valuable source for those who wish to compare the different proposals. Εnjoy!

 

Table 1. The basic characteristics of the frigate candidates for the Hellenic Navy (main program)

INFOGRAPHICS #47: Naval Group's SYLVER (SYstème de Lancement VERtical) vertical launching system

The following graphs are about the Sylver (SYstème de Lancement VERtical), a vertical launching system (VLS) designed by the French naval shipbuilding company Naval Group (formerly known as Direction des Constructions Navales or DCNS), and the missiles it can hold and fire. These excellent graphs were created for Naval Analyses by Aylont1, a Twitter account worth following!

 

INFOGRAPHICS #46: The frigate candidates for the Hellenic Navy's new frigate program

Written by D-Mitch

Photo: Nick Thodos

This post includes the graphs of the frigate candidates for the Hellenic Navy's new frigate program based on publicly available information. For those who are aware of the Greek program, the Hellenic Navy’s frigate program amounts to €5 billion, and includes the construction of four (4) new frigates, the upgrade of the existing four MEKO-200HN (Hydra-class) frigates, the provision of interim solution ships (at least two major surface combatants) and provides for co-production projects in order to strengthen local shipyards (source). Where OPTION indicates extra equipment which is under discussion between the provider, the shipbuilder, and the Hellenic Navy (HN). Some of the options are already included in the offer to the Navy but in order to be fair, they have been highlighted as well. Some sources also vary in their reports about offered equipment. So, think of them as.. extras to the basic configuration. Note, that some of them maybe not be depicted in the image of the ship as these images are the official illustrations from the manufacturers. The graphs will be uploaded gradually.

PHOTO GALLERY #37: Absalon and Iver Huidfeldt, frigates of the Royal Danish Navy

Absalon and Iver Huidfeldt, frigates of the Royal Danish Navy

This is another photo gallery from my visit to Kiel in 2019, on the first weekend of the 137th Kiel Week. The Kiel Week (German: Kieler Woche) or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The first weekend of the Kiel Week, the famous Naval Base of Kiel, opens its gates for just four hours per day, for thousands of tourists who are eager to visit the German Navy warships and dozens of foreign warships which visit the city of Kiel, to honor the Kiel Week. Among the visiting ships, were two Royal Danish Navy frigates, the lead ship of the Absalon class ASW frigates HDMS Absalon (L16, now F341) and the lead ship of the Iver Huitfeldt class AAW frigates HDMS Iver Huidfeldt (F361)! This was a quite rare moment to see both lead ships of the current Danish frigate classes together.

 

Royal Danish Navy frigates Absalon and Iver Huidfeldt at Kiel Naval Base

Absalon class frigate
Photo: A. Henry, US Navy

Iver Huidfeldt class frigate
Photo: Chris Cavas

The two ships in the Absalon class frigates (flexible support ships initially) may be described as a hybrid between a frigate and military transport ship with multiple role capabilities, with the capacity to be transformed from a combat ship with the firepower of a traditional frigate to a hospital ship within a day. The class is based on a frigate-like design, but built with an internal multipurpose deck (flex deck), a stern vehicle ramp and a hatch for launching a landing craft. The ships can serve as command platforms for a staff of 75 persons (naval or joint staff) with a containerized command and control centre, transport and base of operations for a company-sized landing force of some 200 men with vehicles. Alternatively, the flex deck can be used for mine-laying operations with a capacity of some 300 mines, or be fitted out for mine-clearing operations and launch and recover mine detecting and clearing equipment via a retractable gantry crane, adjacent to the stern vehicle ramp, which also is used for launching and recovering the fast landing craft. Furthermore, the flex deck can support a containerized hospital or simply transport a number of ISO standard containers or some 55 vehicles, including up to seven MBTs. The ships can carry two LCPs (Storebro SB90E), two rigid hull inflatable boats and two EH101 helicopters. The ships have been recently reclassified to frigates. The ships retain their names, but changed the pennant number from L16 and L17, to F341 and F342. Both ships will be upgraded with towed array sonars by 2026 to fulfill their new role. Absalon is 137 meters long and has a full displacement around 6,600 tons. The Iver Huitfeldt class is a three-ship class of air defence frigates that entered service in 2012 and 2013. The class is built on the experience gained from the Absalon class frigates, and by reusing the basic hull design of the Absalons 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 Mk 141 8-cell Harpoon launcher module, or the 12-cell Mark 56 ESSM VLS. The rest two modules are fitted with two 76mm guns while there is a 32-cell Mk41 VLS amidships for 32 SM-2 IIIA (currently) or SM-3, SM-6 or Tomahawk cruise missiles in the future. Iver Huidfeldt is 139 meters long and has a full displacement around 6,650 tons. Unfortunately the access to her was not allowed. Both ships carry an impressive armament. Enjoy the photos!

SuperTermoli (ST) 60 MMI - The successor of Hellenic Navy UDC's ST60 fast interceptor

Written by D-Mitch

 

SuperTermoli (ST) 60 MMI

In a previous post we described the ST60 interceptor, the only real interceptor craft in the SOC fleet, designed by the manufacturer SuperTermoli and built in Greece. SuperTermoli is a high-speed vessel manufacturing company based in Kallithea, Attica. The construction of the boats takes place in a shipyard in the area of Schimatari, Boeotia. The technologies and expertise of SuperTermoli have given rise to a vessel comparable to a supercar: tremendously fast, but also able to navigate safely at cruising speeds substantially above the upper limits of many other boats! This line of models is high-speed powerboats made of fiberglass specifically designed for special operations. Depending on the engines installed, they can reach a top speed of more than 70 knots even in rough waters and can carry maximum 20 people for special missions. SuperTermoli powerboats are made οf Italian technology and represent the state of the art of shipbuilding and mechanical engineering for boating in order to offer reliability and endurance under extreme situations that long-range operations demand, maintaining speeds of 60 knots. In this article we will reveal more information about the successor design, the ST60 Multi-Mission Interceptor (MMI), a more advanced craft with increased capabilities than the initial ST60.

 

Castor class coastal patrol vessels of the Belgian Navy (plus PHOTO GALLERY #36)

Written by D-Mitch

The two coastal patrol vessels of the Belgian Navy

The Belgian Navy, officially the Belgian Maritime Component (Marinecomponent) of the Belgian Armed Forces, provides the maritime component of Belgium’s defence capabilities. The Naval Component of the Belgian Armed Forces consists currently of two frigates, five mine hunters, two offshore patrol vessels, one command and support ship and one oceanographic ship, all located in the Belgian naval base in Zeebrugge. The Navy also operates a sail training ship, a number of tugs and a large number of rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs), the majority of them carried by the naval units. It is a small but modern and very capable naval force and will be even more capable in the future thanks to two major projects which will provide six new multi-mission large minehunters and two multi-mission frigates. In this article we will analyze the patrol boats.

PHOTO GALLERY #35: Binzhou, frigate of the People's Liberation Army Navy

Binzhou, Type 054A-class frigate of the PLAN

Another photo gallery from my visit to Kiel in 2018, on the first weekend of the 136th Kiel Week. More galleries will follow from 2018-19 Kiel Weeks. The Kiel Week (German: Kieler Woche) or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The first weekend of the Kiel Week, the famous Naval Base of Kiel, opens its gates for just four hours per day, for thousands of tourists who are eager to visit the German Navy warships and dozens of foreign warships which visit the city of Kiel, to honor the Kiel Week. This post is about a very unique visitor to Kiel, a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 054A class frigate (Jiangkai II), Binzhou (515)! The Type 054A (NATO codename Jiangkai II) frigate is a class of Chinese multi-role frigates, the first of which entered service with the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force in 2007. It is a development of the Type 054 frigate (2 ships), using the same hull but with improved sensors and weapons (such as a VLS instead of a trainable launcher, new CIWS and main gun). This is the second frigate of the class I visited after the Yuncheng (see here) in 2015. Binzhou was commissioned in December 2016 and she is the 23rd vessel (Batch III) in a class of total 30 ships (pus the two Type 054s) until now. A new frigate that is under development will succeed the class. Binzhou is 134 meters long and has a full displacement around 4,000 tons. Enjoy the photos!