The ''Hämeenmaa''-class minelayers ( fi, Hämeenmaa-luokan miinalaiva) is a two vessel strong class of coastal

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...

s, used by the

Finnish Navy The Finnish Navy ( fi, Merivoimat, sv, Marinen) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS", short for ...

. The ships have a steel hull and aluminum alloy superstructure. The class has an ice operating classification of ICE-1A and can operate year-round in ice up to 40 cm thick. The design included some first attempts on

stealth technology Stealth technology, also termed low observable technology (LO technology), is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive and active electronic countermeasures, which covers a range of methods used to make personnel, aircraft, ships, subm ...

in the Finnish Navy. During a crisis the main task for the ''Hämeenmaa''-class ships is minelaying, but the vessels can also act as escort, transport and depot ships.

History

The contract for the ''Hämeenmaa'' class was originally awarded to

Wärtsilä Marine Wärtsilä Marine ( fi, Wärtsilä Meriteollisuus; sv, Wärtsilä Marinindustri) was a Finnish shipbuilding company. The company was created in 1987 in order to improve shipbuilding productivity by combining the Wärtsilä and Valmet yards unde ...

, but following its bankruptcy the contract was transferred to Hollming. Turmoil in the Finnish shipbuilding industry didn't stop there. In early 1992 Hollming and

Rauma Yards Rauma may refer to: Places * Rauma, Finland, a town and municipality in the Satakunta region of western Finland * Rauma, Norway, a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway * Rauma (river), a river in the Romsdalen valley in Møre og Romsdal ...

merged their shipbuilding industry to form a new company called

Finnyards STX Finland Oy, formerly Aker Yards Oy, was a Finnish shipbuilding company operating three shipyards in Finland, in Turku, Helsinki and Rauma, employing some 2,500 people. It was part of STX Europe, a group of international shipbuilding compan ...

Modernization

Both ships were modernized 200608. The purpose of the modernization was to firstly upgrade the ships' equipment to fit modern standards, and secondly, to enable the ships to participate in international operations, mainly

European Security and Defence Policy The Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) is the European Union's (EU) course of action in the fields of defence and crisis management, and a main component of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The CSDP involves the deplo ...

operations. They are fitted with weapons systems transferred from the discontinued including the

Umkhonto missile The Umkhonto (Xhosa: Spear) is a family of vertical launch system, surface-to-air missiles developed by Denel Dynamics. Umkhonto is designed to be a modern, short to medium-range missile, with an all-weather launch capability. Operating at sup ...

system. Also a new fire control system Saab 9LV325E FCS, modern monitoring equipment including TRS-3D/16 ES surveillance radar and Kongsberg ST2400 Variable Depth Sonar and SS2030 Hull mounted sonar, were installed. In October 2013, ''Hämeenmaa'' changed its homeport from Pansio to Upinniemi to replace the decommissioned .

Role after modernization

Modernization of the two ''Hämeenmaa''-class ships serves of course the interests of Finnish Navy, but also the ones of EU's Helsinki Headline Goal: these two ships will add to the EU‘s capabilities, having relatively wide selection of roles that they can assume, from light espionage- and minelaying to escort- and anti-submarine warfare ship, these two vehicles are practically perfect for monitoring Russia's Baltic fleet. Uusimaa Turku 2011 Bofors 57 mm 1

''Hämeenmaa'' was delivered from the dock back to the Navy on 13 April 2007 and ''Uusimaa'', which had been under modernization since November 2006 at the

Aker Yards Aker may refer to: Places * Aker, Norway, a geographic area in Oslo and a former municipality in Norway * Vestre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Nordre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Aker Br ...

dock in Rauma, was delivered on 26 October 2007. ''Hämeenmaa'' and ''Uusimaa'' conducted sea trials on their new systems until the end of 2008, when operational readiness was achieved. In October 2013 ''Hämeenmaa'' took over the role of flagship of the Finnish Navy with the retirement of ''Pohjanmaa'' in 2015.Iltalehti
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Vessels

;FNS ''Hämeenmaa'' :Pennant number: 02. :Builder:

. :Ordered: 29 December 1989. :Laid down: 2 April 1991. :Launched: 11 November 1991. :Commissioned: 15 April 1992. :Home base:

Upinniemi Upinniemi ( sv, Obbnäs) is a village in the municipality of Kirkkonummi in southern Finland. It is located approximately 12 km south of the municipal centre. Upinniemi is dominated by the naval base (formerly the Porkkala Naval Base), whi ...

. :Current status: In active service. ;FNS ''Uusimaa'' :Pennant number: 05. :Builder:

. :Ordered: 13 February 1991. :Laid down: 12 November 1991. :Launched: June 1992. :Commissioned: 2 December 1992. :Home base:

Pansio Pansio is a district and a suburb of the city of Turku, Finland. It is located in the western part of the city. It has a population of 2,809 (), and an annual population growth of -3.83%. 19.25% of the district's population are under 15 years o ...

. :Current status: In active service.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hameenmaa class minelayer Mine warfare vessel classes Minelayers of the Finnish Navy Ships built in Finland