Monday 31 May 2021

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!

 
The forward mast with the TRS-3D/16 MFR and below, a MIRADOR EOS
The Leonardo 3in gun and the forward RAM CIWS
The sign for the bow thruster
The ship's superstructure
The ship's superstructure. Note the X-shape for small
radar signatures
The ship's bridge
Erfurt, corvette of the German Navy
The bridge and one of the two Raytheon navigation radars
View of the ship
View of the bow
The compact mast that integrates various antennas,
including SATCOM, ECM, ESM, EOS and radars

One of the two MLG-27 RWS is visible
View of the bridge
The forward RAM Block 2 21-cell launchers
Another view of the ship
Bow view
View of the Kiel Naval Base
Erfurt alongside other (foreign) vessels
Corvette Erfurt and U33 (pics of the submarine here)

One of the two MLG-27 RWS is visible
One of the two MLG-27 RWS is visible
The rear mast and rear RAM CIWS
The rear RAM Block 2 21-cell  launcher
Closer photo of the Mk49 GMLS
Note the read MIRADOR EOS and the second navigation/
helicopter approach radar
Water cannon aiming at the flight deck
Water cannon aiming at the flight deck
The flight deck
The flight deck can accommodate up to a 12-ton class
helicopter (Westland Lynx or NH90)

Close-up photo of a RAM launcher
The rear mast that hosts communication antennas, a radar
and a MIRADOR electro-optical sensor
The two double RBS-15 Mk3 and Mk4 (in the future) SSM
RBS15 Mk3 anti-ship launchers
Rear view of the foremast.
Note the SPS-N-5000 ELINT antennas (collar) at the top
The upper dome contains one of the two KJS-N-5000 jammers
The anti-ship launchers amidships
The twin RBS-15 Mk3 canisters
MLG-27 27mm remote weapon station
The MLG-27 achieves a 1,700rds/min and a range up to 4km
Each MLG-27 features and integrated fire control system
View of MLG-27 RWS
View of the rear mast of Erfurt
The ammunition box and the 27mm cannon of MLG-27
SATCOM antenna
The forward MASS decoy launcher.
Note that it contains 32 decoys!
View of the bow deck
The 76mm naval gun and one of the two RAM CIWS
RAM 21-cell anti-aircraft/missile launcher

The modern bridge
The modern bridge
Description of the RAM launcher. A fire and forget weapon
that can even engage surface targets at 6km
View from the bridge
Note that the launcher is loaded with
three RIM-116 Block 2 SAM
Description of the 76mm gun: range 16km, 100rds/min
The weapon firing arcs that equip the corvette
The weapon firing arcs that equip the corvette
The ship has weapons for ASuW, ASW, NL and AAW
Description of the MASS DL

Closer photo of the description of the RAM launcher.
I cannot remember why I took this photo :-)
View of the bridge's consoles
View of the bridge's consoles
View of the bridge's consoles
View of the bridge's consoles
View of the bridge's consoles
Searchlight
The enclosed mast
The starboard MLG-27 RWS
One of the two RIB is visible
The fire control system of MLG-27
The canister contains an RBS-15 Mk3 SSM.
The missile can hit surface and land targets at 200km range!
RHIB and the launching/recovery mechanism

Communication antennas and jammers
The small domes at the second level contain the
jamming systems. At the lower level there are SATCOM antennas
Details of the RIB. It is a 6.1-metre FASSMER
that can accommodate up to 8 persons on board
The rear MASS decoy launching system
The two masts of the K130 corvette
Close up photo of Multi-Ammunition Softkill System
The flight deck can be fitted with rails for minelaying (DM11,
DM41, DM51 and DM61 sea mines).
The ship has a small hangar that can accomodate
two Camcopter S-100 helicopter drones
The RAM CIWS/SAM launcher
The rear (small) mast of the ship
Another view of the ship's flight deck
The ship at Kiel Naval Base
View of the Kiel Naval Base with various visiting ships
View of the Kiel Naval Base with various visiting ships
Erfurt, is the third vessel in the class
The fine lines of K130 corvette
Erfurt (F262), corvette of the German Navy
At each side of the radar there is an ESM (DF) antenna
Although the displacement of the K130 is almost five times greater
than that of the Gepard-class FACM , the radar cross-section is smaller!

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