Sachsen-class Frigate

The German frigate BMS Hamburg (F220) is underway with the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility.

The F124 Sachsen-class is Germany's latest class of highly advanced air-defense frigates. The design of the Sachsen-class frigate is based on that of the F123 Brandenburg-class but with enhanced stealth features intended to deceive any opponent's radar and acoustic sensors and incorporate also the advanced multifunction radar APAR as well as the SMART-L long-range radar which is claimed to be capable of detecting stealth aircraft and stealth missiles. Although designated as frigates, they are in capability and size comparable to destroyers.

At €2.8 billion for only four ships, this was one of the most expensive ship building programs of the German Navy. They are similar to the Dutch De Zeven Provinciën-class frigates. Both the Sachsen-class and the De Zeven Provinciën-class frigates are based on the use of a common primary anti-air warfare system built around the APAR and SMART-L radars and the area-defence SM-2 Block IIIA and point-defence Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) surface-to-air missiles.

In June 1996 the German government contracted for three ships with an option on a fourth that was provisionally to have been named as the BMS Thüringen, which was taken up in February 2002.

The F124-class frigates are larger and much more capable in all aspects than the Lütjens-class destroyers, which they replaced.

Specifications

• Type: Guided Missile Frigate
• Service Period: 2003-Present
• Characteristics
  • Length: 469 feet 2 inches (143 meters)
  • Beam: 57 feet 3 inches (17.45 meters)
  • Draft: 16 feet 5 inches (5.0 meters)
  • Displacement: 5,690 tons (Full Load)
• Crew: 243
• Propulsion:
  • CODAG (combined diesel and gas)
  • 2 x propeller shafts, controllable pitch propellers
  • 2 x MTU V20 diesel engines, 7.4 MW each
  • 1 x General Electric LM2500 gas turbine
  • 2 x Renk ASM 195 F gearboxes (for the diesel engines)
  • 1 x Renk AS 2/290 gearbox (gas turbine and cross connection)
  • 4 x 1000 kW Deutz 16/628 diesel-generators
• Range: 4,400 nautical miles (8,150 kilometers) at 18 knots (33.34 km/h)
• Speed: 30 knots (55.56 km/hr)
• Sensor Suite:
  • 1 x Thales Nederland SMART-L long-range air and surface surveillance radar (D band)
  • 1 x Thales Nederland APAR air and surface search, tracking and guidance radar (I band)
  • 1 x Thales Nederland Sirius IRST long-range infrared surveillance and tracking system
  • 2 x STN Atlas 9600-M multi-function I/J band ARPA radars
  • 1 x STN Atlas MSP 500 electro-optical fire control system
  • 1 x STN Atlas DSQS-24B bow sonar
• Countermeasures:
  • 1 x FL 1800 S II ECM suite
  • 6 x Sippican Hycor SRBOC launcher
• Armament:
  • 1 x OTO-Melara 76mm/62-caliber naval gun
  • 2 x Mauser MLG-27 27mm guns
  • 1 x 32-cell Mk.41 VLS (fires RIM-156 SM-2ER Block IV and RIM-162 ESSM)
  • 2 x 4-cell Mk.141 Launchers (fires RGM-84 Harpoon and RBS.15 AShMs)
  • 2 x 12.75" Mk.32 triple torpedo tubes (fires Eurotorp MU90 Impact torpedoes)
  • 2 x 21-cell Mk.49 SAM Launchers (fires RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles)
• Aircraft Carried: 1 x Westland Lynx Mk.88 or NHIndustries NH-90 Sea Lion maritime helicopter

Unit Run

• BMS Sachsen (F219)
• BMS Hamburg (F220)
• BMS Hessen (F221)
• BMS Thüringen (F222)