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Sweden’s stealth ship makes its entrance
Monday, 10 September, 2007
The Swedish Visby class corvette HSwMS Nyköping (K34) arrived at the Royal Docks Lock in the early hours of Monday morning flanked by two German minesweepers atthe end of its journey to ExCeL. Nyköping is the fourth of the five Visby class vessels, all of which have been built by Kockums (part of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems group).
The ship’s visit — the first by a Visby class vessel to the UK — will provide visitors to DSEi with a unique opportunity to see at first hand the vessel’s radical ‘stealth’ design and state-of-the-art combat system. A multimission, network centric-enabled surface combatant optimised for operations in the littoral, the new Visby class corvettes will become the cornerstone of the Royal Swedish Navy’s future surface fleet as they enter service in the period 2009-2011. Displacing 600 tonnes at full load, the 72m corvettes are constructed almost entirely from fibre reinforced plastic material (providing high strength and rigidity, low weight, good shock resistance, low radar signature and low magnetic signature). They feature a variety of innovative signature-reduction techniques covering radar cross-section (RCS), infrared, acoustic, magnetic, hydrodynamic pressure, visual and electronic signature aspects. The integrated hull and topside has been designed with large flat angled surfaces to minimise RCS. Every feature that need not necessarily be located outside the hull has been built in or concealed under specially designed hatches,and the gas turbine exhausts have been concealed inhidden outlets close to the water surface at the stern of the vessel.
As regards warfighting potential, Nyköping features a sophisticated weapon and sensor suite. This includes a single BAE Systems 57mm Mk 3 gun, four tubes for 400mm anti-submarine homing torpedoes, a Saab Microwave Systems Sea Giraffe AMB multibeam radar, an EDO C-3701 electronic support measures system, a General Dynamics Canada integrated sonar suite and a highly capable mine countermeasures (MCM) system using a range of offboard vehicles, sensors and effectors. Alternatively, eight Saab Dynamics RBS15 Mk II antiship missiles can be fitted in place of role-specific MCM equipment. Command and weapon control is exercised through the CETRIS command, control and communications suite. This is based on Saab Systems’ 9LV Mk 3E combat management system and the associated CeCots multifunction console. Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), which has led the acquisition and integration of the Visby programme, will be presenting Nyköping as the centrepiece of a symposium on Swedish maritime security and technology to be held at DSEi on 12 September.
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