Absalon-class Support Ship

The Royal Danish Navy command and support ship KDM Absalon (L16) underway in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Greenland on August 16^th, 2019. The U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG-107) is visible in the background.

The Absalon-class are support ships of the Royal Danish Navy, commissioned in 2005. The two ships in the class may be described as a hybrid between a frigate and military transport ship with multiple role capabilities, with the capacity to be transformed from a combat ship with the firepower of a traditional frigate to a hospital ship within a day.

Specifications

• Type: Support Ship
• Service Period: 2004-
• Characteristics:
  • Length: 449 feet 6 inches (137.01 meters)
  • Beam: 64 feet (19.51 meters)
  • Draft: 20 feet 8 inches (6.3 meters)
  • Displacement: 4,500 tonnes (Light Load); 6,600 tons (Full Load)
• Crew: 100-170 (accommodation for up to 300 in total)
• Propulsion: 2 x MTU 8000 M70 diesel engines, 2 x shaft, 22,300 bhp (16.6 MW)
• Range: 9,000 nautical miles (16,668 kilometers) at 15 knots (27.78 km/h)
• Speed: 24 knots (44.45 km/h)
• Sensor Suite:
  • Thales SMART-S Mk2 3D volume search radar
  • Terma Scanter 2100 surface search radar
  • Atlas ASO 94 sonar
  • Saab CEROS 200 fire control radar x 4
• Countermeasures:
  • ES-3701 Tactical Radar Electronic Support Measures (ESM)
  • 4 x 12-barrelled Terma DL-12T 130 mm decoy launchers
  • 2 x 6-barrelled Terma DL-6T 130 mm decoy launchers
• Armament:
  • 1 x 5"/62-caliber Mk.45 Mod 4 lightweight naval gun
  • 3 x 12-cell Mk.56 VLS (fires RIM-162 ESSM)
  • 2 x 4-cannister Mk.141 AShM Launchers (fires RGM-84L Harpoon Blk.II+)
  • 2 x 12.75" Mk.32 Mod 14 triple torpedo tubes (fires Eurotorp MU90 Impact lightweight torpedoes)
  • 2 x Oerlikon 35mm Millennium CIWS
  • 6 x 12.7mm machine guns
• Aircraft Carried: 2 x Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk maritime helicopters
• Boats Carried: 2 x RHIBs, 2 x SB90E LCP

Unit Run

• KDM Absalon (L16)
• KDM Esbern Snare (L17)