Valour class frigate
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The South African Valour class frigates are the major surface ships of the South African Navy. The German manufacturer designates them as the MEKO A-200SAN class, member of its MEKO family of naval ships. They were designed and built using principles of stealthy design, including the extensive use of "X-form" structure design in which right angles and vertical surfaces are avoided and techniques to reduce the infrared signature, such as exiting the exhaust below the waterline. Blohm + Voss, the designers, claim the class has the radar signature of a vessel half its size, 75% less infrared signature than previous designs as well as a 20% lower life cycle cost, 25% less displacement and 30% fewer crew.
Propulsion is from "COmbined Diesel And Gas turbine and Waterjet And Refined Propellors" (CODAG WARP).
Contents |
[edit] Ships of the class
| ship name | Builder | laid down | launched | delivered | in service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAS Amatola (F145) | Blohm + Voss, Hamburg | 2 Aug 2001 | 6 Jun 2002 | 2003 | 2006 |
| SAS Isandlwana (F146) | Howaldtswerke, Kiel | 26 Oct 2001 | 5 Dec 2002 | 2004 | 2006 |
| SAS Spioenkop (F147) | Blohm + Voss, Hamburg | 28 Feb 2002 | 2 Aug 2003 | 2004 | — |
| SAS Mendi (F148) | Howaldtswerke, Kiel | 28 Jun 2002 | Oct 2003 | 2004 | — |
[edit] Specifications
- Length, overall: 121 m
- Length, waterline: 107,3 m
- Beam, overall: 16,34 m
- Max displacement: 3 700 tons
- Draught, navigation: 5,95 m
- Crew (incl helicopter): 124
- Propulsion: CODAG WARP
- 2 diesel engines, 5,920 kW each, 2 shafts for cruise;
- 1 gas turbine, 20,000 kW, 1 waterjet
- Speed
- (CODAG): About 30 knots
- one diesel only: 18 knots
- two diesels only: 23 knots
- gas turbine only: 25 knots
- Max Speed: 27 knots
- Range at 16 knots: Over 8,000 nautical miles
- Endurance (stores): 28 days
[edit] History
The four Valour class frigates are a German design by the firm Blohm + Voss, designated as MEKO A-200SAN by the shipbuilders, and are part of Blohm + Voss's MEKO series of frigates. Similar ships are being built in Poland for the Polish Navy.
They are/were built by Blohm + Voss shipyards in Germany, two in Hamburg and the other two in Kiel.
[edit] Armament
Each of the Valour class ships has the following armament:
- One Otobreda 76 mm gun.
- Two 35 mm LIW (Denel) 35DPG dual purpose twin-barreled guns.
- Two Oerlikon 20 mm guns.
- Eight MBDA MM 40 Exocet Block 2 surface-to-surface missiles (mounted in two four-cell launchers).
- Sixteen Umkhonto surface-to-air missiles (mounted in two eight-cell vertical launch systems).
- Torpedoes using two twin 324mm tubes (i.e. four tubes in total).
Each vessel will also carry a Westland Super Lynx medium-sized helicopter. However, the flexibility of the hangar and flight-deck design enables a wide range of helicopter options to fit requirements such as: 2 Westland Super Lynx helicopters (sea state 6 day and night operation); or 1 Westland Super Lynx plus 2 drone UAVs; or 1 Atlas Oryx (sea state 5 day and night operation); or 1 Rooivalk (sea state 5 day and night operation).
