Fridtjof Nansen-class frigate

The Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates are a class of frigates that are the main surface combatant units of the Royal Norwegian Navy. The ships are named after famous Norwegian explorers, with the lead ship of the class bearing the name of Fridtjof Nansen. Five ships were ordered from Spanish shipbuilder Bazan (now Navantia).

HNoMS Otto Sverdrup
Class overview
Name	Fridtjof Nansen class
Builders	Navantia, Ferrol, Spain
Operators	Royal Norwegian Navy
Preceded by	Oslo class
Cost	NOK 21 billion (2003) for 5 units (est.) NOK 4.2 billion (2003) per unit (est.) USD 489 million per unit (est.)
Completed	5
Active	4
Lost	1
General characteristics
Type	Multi-role frigate
Displacement	5,290 tons full load
Length	134 m (439 ft 8 in)
Beam	16.8 m (55 ft 1 in)
Draft	7.6 m (24 ft 11 in)^[1]^[2]
Propulsion	Combined diesel and gas turbine (CODAG) Two BAZAN BRAVO 12V 4.5 MW diesel engines for cruising One GE LM2500 21.5 MW gas turbine for high speed running MAAG gearboxes two shafts driving controllable pitch propellers Bow Thruster Retractable (Electric) 1 MW Brunvoll Diesel generators 4 × MTU 396 Serie 12V 1250 KVA
Speed	27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)+
Range	4.500 nmi (8.334 km; 5.179 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement	120, accommodations for 146
Sensors and processing systems	Lockheed Martin AN/SPY-1F 3D multifunction radar Reutech RSR 210N air/sea surveillance radar Sagem Vigy 20 Electro Optical Director Kongsberg MSI 2005F ASW combat system MRS 2000 hull mounted sonar Captas MK II V1 active/passive towed array sonar 2 × Mark 82 AN/SPG-62 fire-control radar
Electronic warfare & decoys	Condor CS-3701 ECM:/ESM: suite Terma DL-12T decoy launcher Loki torpedo countermeasure
Armament	1 or 2 × 8-cell Mk 41 VLS (32 × RIM-162 ESSM) 8 × Naval Strike Missile SSMs 4 × torpedo tubes for Sting Ray torpedoes Depth charges 1 × 76 mm OTO Melara Super Rapid gun 3 × 12.7 mm Browning M2HB machine guns Sea Protector 2 x 7,62mm MG 3 machine gun Capabilities for other weapons^[note 1] 2 × LRAD Long Range Acoustic Device
Aircraft carried	1 × medium-sized ASW helicopter

The total projected cost for all five ships in 2009 was 21 billion kr (about USD 2.44 billion).^[3] As of November 2018, four are in active service and one has sunk and was subsequently scrapped.

Design

The frigates were originally intended as a replacement for the aging Oslo-class frigates, with a primary focus on anti-submarine warfare (ASW). Eventually, the need for a robust anti-aircraft defense as well as the possibility of incorporating the Naval Strike Missile surface-to-surface missile produced by Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace led to a more multi-role design. The selection of Navantia as prime contractor led to the design being very similar to the Spanish Navy's Álvaro de Bazán-class frigates, including the incorporation of Lockheed Martin's AEGIS combat system.

Improvements

The Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates are larger, and have more personnel and equipment than the Oslo-class frigates. Compared to the Oslo-class vessels, the new vessels are 35 meters longer, nine meters taller and two meters deeper below water. They are also five meters broader and have three times the water displacement of the old ships. The frigates operated six NFH NH90 helicopters, with the role as an extended "arm" of the frigates' anti-submarine and anti-surface capabilities but these will be taken out of services (2022) and returned to NH Industries. In 2023, Norway announced the acquisition of 6 MH-60R helicopters. While the helicopters would be prepared to be equipped for anti-submarine operations, they were initially to be deployed with the Norwegian Coast Guard. This meant that the replacement of helicopters specifically to operate off the Fridtjof Nansen-class remained outstanding.^[4]

The 2023 defence acquisitions plan indicated that the frigates would undergo technical upgrades beginning in 2025 in order to maintain their operational capabilities.^[5]

Service history

On 26 February 2009, the Norwegian government decided to deploy Fridtjof Nansen to the Gulf of Aden, thereby participating in the ongoing Operation Atalanta, the European Union's counter-piracy campaign in Somalia. Fridtjof Nansen joined the campaign in August 2009.^[6][7]

Fridtjof Nansen's engagement in Operation Atalanta was carried out without a permanently stationed helicopter.^[8] Mainly due to delays in delivery of the new NH-90, the ship was equipped with two fast RHIBs for its onboard contingent of maritime special operations forces (Marinejegerkommandoen).^[9]

In November 2009 she became involved in a firefight with suspected pirates after being attacked while inspecting a fishing vessel.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2013 HNoMS Helge Ingstad and the Danish Absalon-class support ship HDMS Esbern Snare were sent to the Syrian port of Latakia to escort the Norwegian registered RoRo cargo ship Taiko and the Danish cargo ship Ark Futura, which transported Syrian chemical weapons to Italy where they were handed over to a United States Navy ship for destruction in international waters.^[10][11]

On 8 November 2018, while returning from participation in Exercise Trident Juncture, Helge Ingstad was involved in a collision with a Maltese-registered oil tanker, Sola TS, that severely damaged the frigate and caused a severe list that placed it in serious danger of sinking in spite of its position. The frigate first ran aground and then was successfully beached and tethered with wire cable to prevent it sinking and allow the crew to be evacuated.^[12] In the early hours of 13 November the vessel partially sank with only smaller sections of the superstructure remaining above water.^[13] The vessel was recovered but with the cost of repair prohibitive it has been decommissioned and was scrapped.^[14]

Ships in class

The ships are named after explorers Fridtjof Nansen, Roald Amundsen, Otto Sverdrup, Helge Ingstad and Thor Heyerdahl.

Pennant number	Name	Ordered	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Status
F310	Fridtjof Nansen	23 June 2000	9 April 2003	3 June 2004	5 April 2006		Active
F311	Roald Amundsen	23 June 2000	3 June 2004	25 May 2005	21 May 2007^[15]		Active
F312	Otto Sverdrup	23 June 2000	25 May 2005	28 April 2006	30 April 2008^[16]		Active
F313	Helge Ingstad	23 June 2000	28 April 2006	23 November 2007	29 September 2009	24 June 2019^[17]	Sold for scrap, January 2021^[18]
F314	Thor Heyerdahl	23 June 2000	23 November 2007	11 February 2009	18 January 2011		Active

Future replacement of the Fridtjof Nansen class

In June 2023, the Norwegian Ministry of Defence published The Military Advice of the Chief of Defence 2023, in which General Eirik Kristoffersen (Chief of Defence) recommended that Norway replace the RNoN's in-service Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates and increase the force level to six ships. Delivering a new frigate likely will be central to the government’s long-term plan to build a new surface force structure within a wider fleet renewal programme. The government likely will emphasize the need to deliver the future frigate through partnership with close allies.^[19]

In the New Norwegian Long Term Plan on Defence from April 2024, it is proposed to replace the class with five new frigates with the same focus (ASW) as the Nansen class.^[20]

Images

•  
  View of the lead ship of the class, Fridtjof Nansen
•  
  Close-up of superstructure of Fridtjof Nansen
•  
  The OTO Breda 76 mm gun. Note the low-RCS design of both the gun house and the exposed part of the barbette.
•  
  Otto Sverdrup leaving Trondheim, Norway, November 2009.
•  
  Otto Sverdrup at Haakonsvern Naval Base.
•  
  Roald Amundsen.
•  
  Helge Ingstad
•  
  Thor Heyerdahl
•  
  Otto Sverdrup moored at South Quay in London, December 2017

See also

• Aegis Combat System
• List of naval ship classes in service
• List of active Royal Norwegian Navy ships

Notes

1. The class is prepared for, but not equipped with:
   • 1 × Otobreda 127 mm/54 gun to replace the 76 mm
   • 1 × spare 76mm OTO Melara Super Rapid gun
   • 1 × spare CIWS gun w/ calibre 40 mm or less
   • 1 × spare 8- cell Mk41 VLS launchers
   • Low cost ASROC
   • ECM: Active Off-board Decoy
   • 3 × Protector (RWS) (Sea Protector)

References

1. "KNM "FRIDTJOF NANSEN" - Skipsrevyen.no". 20 November 2007.
2. "Fridtjof Nansen (04/2006)". 17 April 2006.
3. [Facts about Nansen Class frigates]. Norwegian Armed Forces (in Norwegian). 19 March 2003. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
4. Felstead, Peter (15 March 2023). "Norway to Replace its Cancelled NH90s with Six Sikorsky MH-60Rs". European Security and Defence. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
5. "Future Acquisitions For the Norwegian Defence Sector 2023–2030" (PDF). Norwegian Defence Ministry. May 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
6. (in Norwegian). Norwegian Defence Force. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009.
7. . The Norway Post. Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 March 2009. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
8. "Norsk fregatt setter kurs mot Afrika". Dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). August 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
9. (in Norwegian). Norwegian Defence Force. Archived from the original on 1 August 2009.
10. ["Helge Ingstad" in position outside Syria]. Bergens Tidende (in Norwegian). 29 December 2013. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
11. "Syria: Denmark and Norway offer to transport chemical weapons" (Press release). Government of Norway. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
12. "Helge Ingstad: Norway's warship collides with tanker in fjord". BBC News. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
13. Nilsen, Thomas (13 November 2018). "Latest: Frigate "Helge Ingstad" sinks". The Barents Observer. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
14. "Fregatten Helge Ingstad er nå historie". fma.no (in Norwegian). Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
15. Norwegian Defence Force official website: Første seilas med F311 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine (in Norwegian)
16. Norwegian Defence Force official website: Tredje fregatt på norske hender 2 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine (in Norwegian)
17. "Ministry confirms frigate scrapping". 24 June 2019.
18. Fiorenza, Nicholas (18 January 2021). "Norway scraps frigate Helge Ingstad". Janes.com. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
19. Willett, Lee (23 January 2024). "Norway Seeks International Partners For Future Frigate". Naval News. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
20. "New Norwegian Long Term Plan on Defence: 'A historic plan'". Government.no. Norwegian Government. Retrieved 15 April 2024.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fridtjof Nansen class frigate.

• Official Royal Norwegian Navy website on the class (in English)
• Official Royal Norwegian Navy website on the class (in Norwegian)
• Norway order Sting Ray mod 1 torpedo for frigates
• Norway ordering the AN/SSQ-62E DICASS sonobuoy acoustic emissions detection system (Jan 2010)
• http://www.defpro.com/news/details/18513/ - Reutech radar installed aboard Norwegian frigate (Oct 2010)