The ''Fridtjof Nansen''-class frigates are a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s that are the main surface combatant units of the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, 3 ...

. The ships are named after famous Norwegian explorers, with the lead ship of the class bearing the name of

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...

, the Norwegian scientist, explorer and humanitarian. Five ships were ordered from Spanish shipbuilder Bazan (now Navantia). The total projected cost for all five ships in 2009 was (about USD ). 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 s, with a primary focus on

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

(ASW). Eventually, the need for a robust

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

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 s, including the incorporation of

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

AEGIS combat system The Aegis Combat System is an American integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and it is now produced by Lockheed Martin. Initially used by the United States Navy, Aegis is now used also by t ...

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' ASW and

ASuW Anti-surface warfare (ASuW or ASUW) is the branch of naval warfare concerned with the suppression of surface combatants. More generally, it is any weapons, sensors, or operations intended to attack or limit the effectiveness of an adversary's s ...

capabilities but these will be taken out of services (2022) and returned to NH Industries.

Service history

On 26 February 2009, the Norwegian government decided to deploy ''Fridtjof Nansen'' to the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...

, thereby participating in the ongoing

Operation Atalanta Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia, is a current counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first naval operation conducted by the E ...

, the European Union's counter-piracy campaign in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

. ''Fridtjof Nansen'' joined the campaign in August 2009. ''Fridtjof Nansen''s engagement in Operation Atalanta was carried out without a permanently stationed helicopter. Mainly due to delays in delivery of the new

NH-90 The NHIndustries NH90 is a medium-sized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter. It was developed in response to NATO requirements for a battlefield helicopter which would also be capable of being operated in naval environments. The NH90 ...

, the ship was equipped with two fast RHIBs for its onboard contingent of maritime

special operations forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

( Marinejegerkommandoen). In November 2009 she became involved in a firefight with suspected pirates after being attacked while inspecting a fishing vessel. In December 2013 HNoMS ''Helge Ingstad'' and the Danish support ship were sent to the

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

n port of

Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...

to escort the Norwegian registered RoRo cargo ship and the Danish cargo ship , which transported Syrian chemical weapons to Italy where they were handed over to a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

ship for destruction in international waters. On 8 November 2018, while returning from participation in Exercise ''Trident Juncture'', ''Helge Ingstad'' was involved in a collision with a

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Malte ...

-registered

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...

, ''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 was successfully beached to prevent it sinking and allow the crew to be evacuated. In the early hours of 13 November the vessel partially sank with only smaller sections of the superstructure remaining above water. The vessel was recovered but with the cost of repair prohibitive it has been decommissioned and was scrapped.

Ships in class

The ships are named after explorers

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen bega ...

, Otto Sverdrup, Helge Ingstad and

Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000&nb ...

Images

File:KNM Fridtjof Nansen-2006-06-01-side.jpg, View of the lead ship of the class, ''Fridtjof Nansen'' File:KNM Fridtjof Nansen 02.JPG, Close-up of superstructure of ''Fridtjof Nansen'' File:Nansen-oto75mm-2006-07-03.jpg, The OTO Breda 76 mm gun. Note the low-RCS design of both the gun house and the exposed part of the barbette. File:KNM Otto Sverdrup in Trondheim.jpg, ''Otto Sverdrup'' leaving Trondheim, Norway, November 2009. File:KNM Otto Sverdrup-2009-04-10-Haakonsvern.jpg, ''Otto Sverdrup'' at

Haakonsvern Haakonsvern is the main base of the Royal Norwegian Navy and the largest naval base in the Nordic area. The base is located at Mathopen within Bergen municipality, about 15 km south-west of the city centre. Around 5,400 people work at the base ...

Naval Base. File:KNM Roald Amundsen (F311) underway in the Atlantic Ocean on 16 February 2018 (180216-N-GC347-175).JPG, ''Roald Amundsen''. File:KNM Helge Ingstad.jpg, ''Helge Ingstad'' File:Nor F314.jpg, ''Thor Heyerdahl'' File:HNoMS Otto Sverdrup at South Quay, London.jpg, ''Otto Sverdrup'' moored at South Quay in London, December 2017

Notes

References

External links

Official Royal Norwegian Navy website on the class

Official Royal Norwegian Navy website on the class

Lockheedmartin:Spy-1F makes waves during debut, makes the furthest ESSM intercept ever, outstanding sea skimmer detection

Norway order Sting Ray mod 1 torpedo for frigates

Sea Protector remote weapon systems ordered (march 2009) for Nansen 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)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fridtjof Nansen Class Frigate Frigates of Norway

Frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

Frigate classes