HDMS Absalon (L16) and her sister ship HDMS Esbern
Snare (L17) are the biggest ships ever to serve in
the Royal Danish Navy (RDN), and are the two members of the Absalon
class flexible support ships. The two
ships in the Absalon class, named after Danish archbishop and statesman Absalon, received full
operational status in 2007. The ships can be equipped for naval warfare,
land attack, strategic sealift missions or as a command platform. They can also
be configured as hospital ships or for emergency disaster relief.
The
ships are the first in a series of RDN vessels tasked with carrying out new
types of missions, and are to form the backbone of the international operations
that the RDN is increasingly focusing on. The Absalon-class ships are
primarily designed for command and support roles, with a large ro-ro deck, while the following three frigates of the Ivar Huitfeldt-class will
be equipped for a combat role and potentially equipped with Tomahawk
cruise missiles, a first for the Danish Navy. Although
similar to the Absalon-class vessels, the frigates will not have a large ro-ro
deck.Scheduled for completion in 2008 and 2009, the frigates are to
receive full operational status in 2010 and 2011, replacing the Niels Juel-class corvettes.
HDMS
Absalon (L16) was launched in February 2004 and commissioned into the Royal
Danish Navy in July 2004. The second of class, Esbern Snare (L17), was launched
in June 2004 and commissioned in February 2005. The Absalon Class has a
full load displacement of 6,300t. The hull is 137m long, has a 19.5m maximum
beam and a 6.3m draught.
The
ship design, with 16 watertight sections or compartments and two airtight
bulkheads, incorporates survivability and damage limitation features including
dual redundancy, automated damage control zones, damage detectors and smoke
zones. The ship's on-board battle damage and control system continuously
monitors the status of the ship and incorporates a closed circuit television
observation system with more than 50 cameras, fire fighting installations,
sensors and alarms, a load and stability computer.
A
roll-on roll-off ramp installed at the stern of the ship accesses the flex deck
(flexible deck). The flex deck, providing 915m², and 250m of parking lanes, is
about 90m long. The reinforced deck can embark vehicles up to 62t such as the
Leopard II main battle tank.
The
ship design incorporates stealth characteristics for low acoustic, radar,
visual and infrared signatures. Shock protection and isolation are to STANAG
4142, 4137 and 4549. Parts of the hull are armour protected to STANAG 4569
standard. Manned areas are protected against nuclear biological and chemical
warfare to STANAG 4447.
The ship has a Terma C-Flex
Combat management and Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence system
(C4I). Systematic and Terma developed the software for the C-Flex and Maersk
Data Defence was contracted for the development and supply of the hardware and
system consoles. The C-Flex system uses the T-Core common operational
environment configured with a layered architecture.
The
ship has over 20 multifunction consoles equipped with large screen displays and
workstations. Digitised video imagery data from the radars and sensor suite is
distributed on a TCP/IP network. The ship is fitted with a 1G Ethernet TCP/IP
local area network for data transfer.
The
communications suite includes tactical data links Link 11, Link 16, civil and
military satellite communications operating in EHF, SHF and UHF bands, voice
communications in VHF and UHF bands, civil and commercial communications, and
video teleconferencing. Antenna stations are installed for use by army, air
force or special forces.
In
August 2008, Terma was awarded a contract to supply a multi-link system (MLS)
which will interface to the C-Flex combat system and allow the future
integration of Link 22.
The ship has five standard flex
container wells in the weapons deck in the mid section of the ship. The
standard weapons container fit for the ship will be two modules for the Harpoon
surface-to-surface missile and three modules for the Evolved Sea Sparrow
surface-to-air missiles.
Two modules each carry eight Harpoon
Block II surface-to-surface missiles.
The three modules for the
surface-to-air missiles will each carry a 12-cell mk6 vertical launcher
allowing the ship to carry 36 RIM-162 Raytheon Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles
(ESSM). The CEROS 200 fire control system provides radar homing illumination.
The ship is fitted with four Flexfire radar and electro-optical trackers.
The ship will be armed with the
Eurotorp MU 90 lightweight torpedo and a twin or triple torpedo launcher on
both sides of the weapons deck.
The ship can carry up to 300 mines and
can be fitted with containerised mine laying rails.
The ship has two Close-In-Weapon
Systems (CIWS), the Oerlikon Contraves Millenium, 35mm naval gun system
(GDM-008), one to the front of the bridge and one on the roof of the hangar.
Millenium can fire the 35mm Ahead Air Burst Munition, at 1,000 rounds a minute.
Each round contains 152 3.3g sub-projectiles, fired at a velocity of
1,050m/sec. Millenium is effective at over 3.5km for aircraft / helicopters,
2km for guided missiles / cruise missiles and 1.2km for anti-radiation
missiles.
Under a contract awarded in October
2002, a BAE Systems Land & Armaments (formerly United Defense) 127mm 62
mk45 mod 4 gun provides naval fire support capability. The gun will be capable
of firing the newly developed Extended-Range Guided Munitions (ERGM) such as
the EX-171 ER which will have a range of over 100km with an accuracy of less
than 20m.
The ship is fitted with six Terma decoy
launchers managed by a launch control computer. Four 12-barrelled Terma DL-12T
130mm launchers are installed on both sides of the bridge and the hangar. Two
six-barrel DL-6T launchers are installed on the aft of the hangar.
In
September 2005, EDO Corporation was awarded a contract to provide the ES 3701
tactical radar Electronic Support Measures (ESM) and surveillance system for
the Absalon vessels.
The helicopter hangar can accommodate two
EH101 helicopters. The 850m² flight deck, which is rated for take-off and
landings of helicopters up to 20t such as the Boeing CH-47D Chinook, is
equipped with a McTaggart Scott helicopter landing system and a Harpoon deck
lock.
Elevator
access is available between the flight deck and the flex deck. For
non-helicopter operations the flight deck can be used for cargo containers.
The ship is equipped for insertion of
Special Operations Forces (SOF). The cargo deck carries two special forces
insertion craft. The 7.4t 12m SRC-90E insertion craft are operated by a crew of
two or three and can carry 1,800kg of equipment, up to nine passengers or four
stretcher patients.
The craft are launched from the port
stern by a monorail and crane system and can be launched and recovered while
the ship is underway.
The Storebro Bruks SRC-90E is
constructed of composite laminates using carbon fibre and vinyl ester resins.
The water jet propulsion system gives a speed of over 40kt.
The ship has a Thales Naval Netherlands
SMART-S mk2 3D S-band multi-beam surveillance and target designation radar,
with a range of 250km and up to 70° elevation, and a Saab Systems Ceros 200 mk3
fire control radar, operating in I to J band. The SMART-S mk2 was installed in
HDMS Absalon in June 2007. The Terma Scanter 2001 X-band radar provides surface
surveillance.
The
navigation suite includes navigation radars operating at X and S bands,
supplied by Furuno Marine. The ship's C4I system is linked to the electronic
chart display information system. The navigation data is downloaded to the OSI
display information system.
The
ship is fitted with an Atlas Elektronik ASO 94-01 hull-mounted sonar.
The Absalon class has a crew of 100.
Permanent accommodation is also included for up to 70 additional personnel such
as combined or joint task force headquarters staff. Container accommodation for
an additional 130 forces personnel can be installed on the flex deck. The ship
has galley and personnel facilities for up to 300 embarked passengers and crew.
A
containerised modular hospital can be installed on the flex deck. The hospital
has a throughput capacity to treat 40 emergency patients a day or up to ten
major surgical operations.
Rockwell Automation supplied the ships'
integrated platform management system which includes the power management
system. The ships are powered by two MTU 8000 diesel engines in a combined
diesel and diesel configuration.
The
engines are each rated at 8.31MW. The power system includes four auxiliary
Caterpillar 3508B diesel engines each rated at 920kW and Van Kaick DSG 74
generators. The machinery spaces are insulated to maintain a low thermal signature
and the machinery is installed on vibration isolation elastomeric mounts. Two
shafts drive controllable pitch propellers.
Bow
thrusters provide precision manoeuvrability for docking.
The
ship has a maximum sustained speed of 23kt and carries stores and fuel for a
mission endurance of 28 days. The maximum range between replenishments is
9,000nm. The ship is fitted with port and starboard, receive and transfer,
replenishment-at-sea stations.