Germany returns lead F125 frigate to builder,
report
Posted on December 22, 2017
The German defense procurement agency BAAINBw has
reportedly returned FGS Baden-Württemberg, the lead ship of German Navy’s new
class of F125 frigates, to the Blohm+Voss shipyard.
According to a report in the German Kieler Nachrichten,
BAAINBw has requested Blohm+Voss – which is part of the ARGE F125 consortium
responsible for delivering the four frigates – to repair all defects identified
on the ship during trials.
This is the first time the German defense ministry is
returning a ship to the shipbuilder after delivery.
Defects cited in the news report include software and
hardware issues, likely the same ones which caused her to miss her
commissioning deadline this summer. As Naval Today reported earlier, there are
problems with the frigate’s operations room from where the highly-automated
ship will be controlled.
This is a complex system as the 7000-tonne frigate (close
to the displacement range of a destroyer) will require only half the crew
necessary to operate the predecessor Bremen-class frigates.
FGS Baden-Württemberg has been experiencing problems ever
since it was delivered to the navy for trials. In addition to hardware and
software integration, the frigates have a listing problem. They list 1.3
degrees to starboard and are overweight, an issue that could possibly
complicate future upgrade options.
F125 frigates are a new class of ships set to replace the
eight Bremen-Class frigates currently in service with the German Navy.
They will be armed with HARPOON and RAM missiles, one 127
mm machine gun, two 27 mm and five 12.7 mm guns. The 150-meter ships will have
a complement capacity of 190 persons and a maximum speed of 26 knots.
According to the German Navy, the new frigates will
require only half the crew necessary to operate the Bremen-class frigates. They
will be able to stay at sea for up to 24 months and thereby reduce the transit
times for the crews. The crews will swap in regular intervals directly in the
areas of operations which means that the ships will have to make fewer port
visits.
Future FGS ‘Rheinland-Pfalz’, the fourth and final
frigate in the class, was launched at thyssenkrupp Marine Systems’ Hamburg site
on May 24, 2017.
Original post: navaltoday.com
F125 Baden-Württemberg Class Frigate: Details
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