HSwMS Karlstad on 31 August 2014 | |
History | |
---|---|
Sweden | |
Name | Karlstad |
Namesake | Karlstad |
Ordered | 1999 |
Builder | Kockums |
Launched | 24 August 2006 |
Commissioned | 16 September 2015 |
Homeport | Karlskrona |
Identification |
|
Status | Active |
Badge | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Visby-class corvette |
Displacement | 660 t (650 long tons) |
Length | 72.6 m (238 ft 2 in) |
Beam | 10.4 m (34 ft 1 in) |
Draft | 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 35+ knots |
Complement |
|
Sensors and processing systems |
|
Electronic warfare & decoys | Rheinmetall Waffe Munition MASS (Multi-Ammunition Softkill) decoy system |
Armament |
|
Aviation facilities | Helipad |
HSwMS Karlstad(K35) is the fifth ship of the Visby-class corvette. [1]
HSwMS Karlstad is the fifth ship of the Visby-class corvettes. [2] It was built by Kockums at the Karlskrona naval base, and was the first of four vessels of the class which are designed for coastal warfare. [3]
The hull of the vessel is made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic, a stealth technology, in order to make the vessel difficult to detect by other forces. A minimum of external equipment is stored outside of the vessel, with equipment such as liferafts being stored inside the hull. [4] This hull also reduces the weight of the vessel by around half. It was intended to be radar silent until it moves within 30 kilometres (19 mi) of an enemy vessel, resulting in designer John Nillson saying of it, "Naval officers fall in love with [this] ship. It's not classically beautiful. In fact it looks like a lunchbox. But it has better maneuverability and can achieve that level of stealth." [3]
Karlstad was built at Kockums in Karlskrona and was launched on 24 August 2006 and commissioned on 16 September 2015. [5] [6]
The Swedish Navy is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet, formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps.
The Visby class is a series of corvettes in use by the Swedish Navy. It is the latest class of corvette adopted by the navy after the Göteborg- and Stockholm-class corvettes. Its design emphasizes low visibility radar cross-section and infrared signature, and the class has received widespread international attention because of its capabilities as a stealth ship. The first ship in the class is named after Visby, the main city on the island of Gotland.
Saab Kockums AB is a shipyard headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, owned by the Swedish defence company Saab AB. Saab Kockums AB is further operational in Muskö, Docksta, and Karlskrona. While having a history of civil vessel construction, Kockums' most renowned activity is the fabrication of military corvettes and submarines.
A stealth ship is a ship that employs stealth technology construction techniques in an effort to make it harder to detect by one or more of radar, visual, sonar, and infrared methods.
HSwMS Gotland (Gtd) is a defense submarine of the Swedish Navy. It was the first ship of the Gotland-class, which was the first operational submarine class in the world to use air-independent propulsion in the form of Stirling engines which use liquid oxygen and diesel as the propellant.
HSwMS Gustaf V, in Swedish HM Pansarskepp Gustaf V was a Sverige-class coastal defence ship of the Swedish Navy. The vessel was the third and last ship in the Sverige class along with HSwMS Sverige and HSwMS Drottning Victoria. Gustaf V was launched on 15 September 1917 at Kockums in Malmö and delivered to the Navy on 9 January 1922. The design consisted of four 28 cm cannon and a secondary armament of eight 15.2 cm cannon. During the interwar period, the ship underwent several modernizations and was one of the most powerful vessels in the fleet during the Second World War. The ship was put in reserve in 1948, was decommissioned in 1957 and was later sold for scrapping in Karlskrona. However, the ship remained at Berga Academy of War as of 1968. Two of the ship's 15.2 cm guns are preserved in the battery at Häggmansberget in the defensive Kalix Line, around Kalix.
The Gotland-class submarines of the Swedish Navy are modern diesel-electric submarines, which were designed and built by the Kockums shipyard in Sweden. They are the first submarines in the world to feature a Stirling engine air-independent propulsion (AIP) system, which extends their underwater endurance from a few days to weeks. This capability had previously only been available with nuclear-powered submarines.
HSwMS Visby (K31) is the lead ship of the Visby-class corvettes. It was created as a stealth ship, and underwent a decade long testing phase before it entered service with the Swedish Navy.
The Göteborg class is a class of corvettes in the Swedish Navy, built between 1986 and 1993. The class was originally designed to destroy Soviet submarines and surface vessels, and is armed with eight RBS-15 anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, one 57 mm cannon, and one 40 mm cannon.
The Stockholm class is a pair of warships of the Swedish Navy. Built as corvettes in Karlskrona 1984–1985, they are armed with four RBS15 anti-ship missiles, one 57 mm cannon and several machine guns. In 2017 the two units in the class were rebuilt and are now serving as patrol boats. The option to carry anti-ship missiles does however remain.
The Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/70, among other names, is a series of dual-purpose naval guns designed and produced by the Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors, designed in the late 1960s as a replacement design for the twin barreled Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/60. The gun is remotely controlled by a fire-control computer but can as a redundancy measure also be operated manually by crew using instrument panels either on or in direct contact with the gun.
HSwMS Helsingborg (K32) is a Swedish Visby-class corvette. She was ordered by the Swedish Government in 1995 and is the second ship of the class built by Kockums. She has been in active service with the 31st Corvette Squadron, 3rd Naval Warfare Flotilla since 19 December 2009. It is a stealth missile corvette.
HSwMS Härnösand (K33) is the third ship of the Visby-class corvettes ordered by the Swedish Government and built by Kockums. The Härnösand is designed for mine countermeasures and anti-submarine warfare.
The Karlskrona naval base is the largest naval base of the Swedish Navy. Located in Blekinge in southern Sweden, the base has close ties with the city of Karlskrona. It has an exceptionally well-sheltered location: arcs of islands provide a strong defense not only from the sea but also from land attacks. Two of Sweden's three naval warfare flotillas are based there. It contains the Marinmuseum and the Ropewalk, the longest wooden building in the country.
The 3rd Naval Warfare Flotilla of the Swedish Fleet was founded in 2005 when the former minelayer and surface flotillas joined together. The flotilla home base is in Karlskrona, Blekinge and is a part of the Karlskrona naval base. The flotilla mostly deploy ships in international missions today.
HSwMS Artemis is a signals intelligence gathering vessel currently in service for the Swedish Navy.
HSwMS Sjöhästen (Shä), Sw. meaning sea horse, was the fifth and last ship of the Swedish submarine class Sjöormen, project name A11.
HSwMS Gävle (K22) is a Swedish Navy Göteborg-class corvette, named after the Swedish city of Gävle.
HSwMS Nyköping(K34) is the fourth ship commissioned of theVisby-class corvette, currently active in the Swedish Navy.
The Luleå class is a Swedish corvette class under development. In total four ships are planned to be built by Saab Kockums. The first two ships are to be commissioned by 2030 and two more by 2035. In June 2023 it was announced that the ships would receive names after Swedish coastal cities: