Baden-Württemberg-class frigate explained

The F125 Baden-Württemberg-class frigates are a series of frigates of the German Navy, which were designed and constructed by ARGE F125, a joint-venture of Thyssen-Krupp and Lürssen. The Baden-Württemberg class is the heaviest displacement of any class of frigates worldwide. They replaced the F122 .[1] [2] They are primarily designed for low and medium intensity maritime stabilization operations, where they are supposed to provide sea-to-land tactical fire support, asymmetric threat control at sea and support of special forces.[3]

Design

Background

In contrast to the, which were built with Cold War-era scenarios in mind, the Baden-Württemberg-class frigates will have much enhanced land-attack capabilities. This will better suit the frigates in possible future peacekeeping and peacemaking missions. For such reasons, the frigates will also mount non-lethal weapons.

General characteristics

Major design goals are reduced radar, infrared and acoustic signatures (stealth technology), something that was introduced to the German Navy with the s and was further developed with the s and s.

Other important requirements are long maintenance periods: It should be possible to deploy Baden-Württemberg-class frigates for up to two years away from homeports with an average sea operation time of more than 5,000 hours per year (nearly 60%) which includes operation under tropical conditions. For this reason, a combined diesel-electric and gas arrangement has been chosen for the machinery. This allows the substitution 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 deckhouses. The aerials of the Cassidian TRS-4D active electronically scanned array radar will be distributed over the two pyramids. This will ensure that the ship remains operational in case of severe damage, such as accidents or enemy action. It will also allow the frigates to keep station if needed when something breaks down and no replacement is available.

An initial batch of four frigates was ordered by the German Navy on 26 June 2007. The initial batch of four ships costs around 2.2 billion euros. In April 2007, a contract with Finmeccanica was signed for delivery of Otobreda Vulcano main guns as well as remote-controlled light gun turrets for the Baden-Württemberg class.[4] The initially considered MONARC gun, as well as the naval GMLRS rocket launcher, were dropped due to problems with the navalization of these land-based systems. The deal with Oto Melara had become opportune, because Germany still had countertrade obligations towards Italy, as Italy had purchased two German Type 212 submarines.

The Baden-Württemberg-class frigates are equipped with one 127mm main gun, two 27mm auto cannons and seven 12.7mm machine guns for defence against air and surface targets. The vessels are also armed with non-lethal weapons, such as water cannons and searchlights for non-provocative deterrence and defence. Beyond capabilities that might be provided by the ship's helicopter(s), sensors for anti-submarine warfare have not been integrated into the platform while the ship's air defence capability is limited to relatively short-range point defence systems.[5]

Problems

The lead ship – Baden-Württemberg – was initially delivered with several problems. These included a persistent 1.3° list to starboard[6] and the fact that the ship was dramatically overweight which would limit its performance, increase its cost of operation, and most importantly, adversely affect the German Navy's ability to add future upgrades to the somewhat sparsely outfitted vessel.[7] Furthermore, there were also problems with the frigate's operations room from where the highly automated ship will be controlled.[8] As a result, the German defense procurement agency BAAINBw refused to commission the vessel, making it the first time in German naval history that the BAAINBw has refused to commission a ship and returned it to its builder.[9]

Baden-Württemberg was eventually accepted by the BAAINBw on 30 April 2019 and commissioned in June 2019, over two years later than originally planned.[10]

While all vessels in the class had been delivered by January 2022, full operational capability for the first ship in the class, Baden-Württemberg, was still only expected in mid-2023.[11] In 2024, Baden-Württemberg was selected to undertake an around the world deployment, accompanied by the support ship .[12]

Ships in the class

Pennant numberName[13] BuilderLaid downLaunchedCommissioned[14] Status
F222 ARGE F125 2 November 2011[15] 12 December 2013[16] 17 June 2019 In active service
F223 24 October 2012[17] 16 April 2015[18] [19] 10 June 2020 In active service
F224 4 June 2014[20] 4 March 2016[21] 17 May 2021 In active service
F225 29 January 2015[22] 24 May 2017[23] 13 July 2022In active service[24]

See also

Similar ships

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Making Do With Less . aviationweek.com .
  2. Web site: First of TKMS built F-125 class Frigate "Baden-Württemberg" Christened for the German Navy . navyrecognition.com . 12 December 2013 . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20131216042131/http://www.navyrecognition.com:80/index.php/news/defence-news/year-2013-news/december-2013-navy-naval-forces-maritime-industry-technology-security-global-news/1420-first-of-tkms-built-f-125-class-frigate-baden-wuerttemberg-christened-for-the-german-navy.html . 16 December 2013 .
  3. Web site: 9. Bericht des Bundesministeriums der Verteidigung zu Rüstungsangelegenheiten. Federal Defence Ministry. Berlin. June 2019. 118. de. 9th Report of the Federal Defence Ministry on Arms Affairs.
  4. Web site: FInmeccanica wins 80 mln eur German frigate orders . abcmoney.co.uk . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070927203251/http://www.abcmoney.co.uk/news/04200751286.htm . 27 September 2007 .
  5. Web site: The Curious Case Of Germany's Massive New But Relatively Toothless Type 125 "Frigates" . The Warzone . Rogoway . Tyler . 13 December 2017 . 29 January 2022.
  6. Web site: German Navy's new frigates have a listing problem: Report . Naval Today . 14 May 2017 . 15 April 2021 . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170517102032/http://navaltoday.com:80/2017/05/14/german-navys-new-frigates-have-a-listing-problem-report/ . 17 May 2017 .
  7. Web site: The German Navy Decided To Return Their Bloated New Frigate To The Ship Store This Christmas . The Drive . 23 December 2017 . 26 December 2017 . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20171224063116/http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/17185/the-german-navy-has-decided-to-return-their-new-frigate-to-the-ship-store-this-christmas . 24 December 2017 .
  8. Web site: German Engineering Yields New Warship That Isn't Fit for Sea . The Wall Street Journal . Wilkes . William . msn.com . 15 January 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180115184638/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/german-engineering-yields-new-warship-that-isnt-fit-for-sea/ar-AAuAMwV?li=BBnb4R7 . 15 January 2018 . dead.
  9. Web site: Germany returns lead F125 frigate to builder, report . Naval Today . 22 December 2017 . 26 December 2017.
  10. Web site: Germany finally accepts delivery of lead F125 frigate FGS Baden-Württemberg . Naval Today . 30 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190430190329/https://navaltoday.com/2019/04/30/germany-finally-accepts-delivery-of-lead-f125-frigate-fgs-baden-wurttemberg/ . 30 April 2019 . 30 April 2019 . live.
  11. Web site: TKMS Delivers 4th And Final F125 Frigate "Rheinland-Pfalz" . Naval News . 28 January 2022 . 29 January 2022.
  12. Web site: German Navy Chief Talks Indo-Pacific Deployment, Round The World-Sail . Naval News . Luck . Alex . 5 February 2024 . 5 February 2024.
  13. Web site: Neue Fregatte der Marine mit traditionsreichem Namen . Presse- und Informationszentrum Marine . 20 December 2011 . 16 January 2012 . de .
  14. F125 "Baden-Württemberg": Germany's most modern frigate entered service . 17 June 2019 . . 24 August 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190824133935/https://www.thyssenkrupp-marinesystems.com/en/press-releases/d/uid-9caf3077-3783-71e7-7cf4-1e3db31d4aad.html . 24 August 2019.
  15. Web site: Fregatte Baden-Württemberg - Kiellegung für einen Meilenstein . Presse- und Informationszentrum Marine . 3 November 2011 . 19 December 2011. de.
  16. German Navy frigate "Baden-Württemberg" christened. ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. 12 December 2013. 18 December 2013.
  17. Web site: Kiellegung der zweiten Fregatte Klasse 125 in Lemwerder . MarineForum . 20 December 2012 . 17 February 2013 . de . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140727233111/http://seefahrer.blog.de/2013/02/06/fregatte-nrw-bericht-kiellegung-15506450/ . 27 July 2014 .
  18. Second 125 class frigate christened in Hamburg. ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. 16 April 2015. 20 April 2015.
  19. Zweites Schiff der neuen Fregattenklasse 125 getauft. de. Germany Navy. 16 April 2015. 21 April 2015.
  20. Web site: Neue Fregatte "Sachsen-Anhalt" auf Kiel gelegt . Marcel Schaffhausen . Bundeswehr . www.marine.de . 5 June 2014 . 30 January 2015 . de.
  21. Third frigate of Class 125 for the German Navy christened in Hamburg. ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. 4 March 2016. 30 March 2016.
  22. Web site: Letzte Kiellegung der Fregattenklasse F 125. Bundeswehr. Presse- und Informationszentrum Marine. 29 January 2015. 29 January 2015 . de.
  23. Germany Navy frigate "Rheinland-Pfalz" christened in Hamburg. ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. 24 May 2017. 24 May 2017.
  24. Web site: German Navy commissions the fourth F125 frigate Rheinland Pfalz . 13 July 2022 .