HDMS Absalon (L16)
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HDMS Absalon |
| Namesake: | Absalon |
| Ordered: | November 2001 |
| Builder: | Odense Staalskibsværft |
| Laid down: | November 2003 |
| Launched: | 30 January 2005 |
| Commissioned: | 2007 |
| Fate: | Active in service as of 2008 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Absalon-class command and support ships |
| Displacement: | 6,300 tonnes |
| Length: | 137.6 m (451 ft 5 in) |
| Beam: | 19.5 m (64 ft 0 in) |
| Draft: | 6.3 m (20 ft 8 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × MTU 8000 M70 diesel engines; two shafts 22,300 bhp (16.4 mW) |
| Speed: | >24 knots (44 km/h) |
| Range: | 9,000 nmi (17,000 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h) |
| Complement: | 169 |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
Thales SMART-S Mk2 3D volume search radar Terma Scanter 2100 surface search radar Atlas ASO 94 sonar 4 Saab CEROS 200 fire control radars ES-3701 Tactical Radar Electronic Support Measures (ESM) |
| Electronic warfare and decoys: |
4 × 12-barrelled Terma DL-12T 130 mm decoy launchers 2 × 6-barrelled Terma DL-6T 130 mm decoy launchers Seagnat Mark 36 SRBOC |
| Armament: | 1 × 5 inch (127 mm)/54 Mark 45 mod 4 gun 7 × 12.7 mm Heavy machine gun VLS with up to 3 RIM-162 ESSM/RIM-7 Sea Sparrow (Mk 56/Mk 48 VLS) 8 × Harpoon Block II SSM Later: 2 × Oerlikon Millennium 35 mm Naval Revolver Gun Systems CIWS MU90 Impact ASW torpedoes 4 × Stinger Point-defence SAM |
| Aircraft carried: | 2 × EH-101 |
| Aviation facilities: | Aft helicopter deck and hangars |
HDMS Absalon (L16), together with her sister ship HDMS Esbern Snare (L17), is the biggest ship ever in the Royal Danish Navy, and the two members of the Absalon-class of command and support ships.
The ships are the first signs of the changes taking place in the Royal Danish Navy. The primary objective for the Royal Danish Navy will in the future be international operations, and these two ships will be the backbone of these operations. The ships are primarily designed for command and support roles, with a large ro/ro deck, while the planned three new Patrolships, a new Danish euphemism for frigate-class vessels, will be equipped for a fighting role, and the possibility to use Tomahawk cruise missiles,[citation needed] a first for the Danish Navy. The new Patrol ships will be very similar to the Absalon-class vessels, but without the large ro/ro deck. The patrolships which will be completed in 2008 and 2009, and receive full operational status in 2010 and 2011, replacing the Niels Juel class of corvettes.
The two ships in the Absalon-class will receive full operational status in 2007.
