| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | SAS Isandlwana |
| Ordered: | 3 December 1999 |
| Laid down: | 28 October 2001 |
| Launched: | 5 December 2002 |
| Commissioned: | 20 July 2006 |
| Status: | in active service, as of 2012[update] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Valour-class frigate |
| Displacement: | 3,700 long tons (3,759 t) |
| Length: | 121 m (397 ft 0 in) |
| Beam: | 16.34 m (53 ft 7 in) |
| Draught: | 5.95 m (19 ft 6 in) |
| Propulsion: | CODAG WARP 2 × Diesels 5,920 kW (7,939 hp) each 2 shafts 1 × Gas turbine 20,000 kW (26,820 hp) 1 Waterjet |
| Speed: | 30 knots (35 mph; 56 km/h) |
| Range: | 8,000 nmi (15,000 km) at 16 kn (18 mph; 30 km/h) |
| Complement: | 152 |
| Armament: | • 1 × Otobreda 76 mm gun • 2 × 35 mm LIW (Denel) 35DPG dual purpose twin-barreled guns • 2 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannon Mk1 • 8 × MBDA MM40 Exocet Block 2 SSM (2 × 4-cell launchers) • 16 × Umkhonto SAM (2 × 8-cell vertical launchers) |
| Aircraft carried: | 1 × SuperLynx 300 (can carry 2) |
SAS Isandlwana (F146) is the second of four Valour class frigates for the South African Navy.
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They were manufactured by the European South African Corvette Consortium (ESACC), consisting of the German Frigate Consortium (Blohm+Voss, Thyssen Rheinstahl and Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft), African Defence Systems (part of the French Thales defense group) and a number of South African companies.
The ships were built to the MEKO modular design concept, and are designated by the manufacturer as the MEKO A-200SAN class. Some controversy exists as to the class type of the vessel, with both the manufacturer and the South African Navy referring to her as a "corvette", but other similar vessels in other navies being referred to as frigates. Some have claimed the use of the word "corvette" was a political decision made by the South African government to ease criticism of the procurement of the vessels.
As with all the other ships of the Valour class, the Isandlwana is named after a famous South African battle or instance of great valour. In this case the famous Battle of Isandlwana between the Zulu nation and Great Britain, at the beginning of the Anglo-Zulu War.
The SAS Isandlwana was built at the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft shipyards in Kiel, Germany, and she arrived in South Africa on 25 February 2004. She is currently nearing the final stages of weapons and systems installation and integration.
The commanding officer of the Isandlwana is Captain Bubele Mhlana. He took over command of this warship from her former Captain Carl Wiesner. The ships commanding officer is now Mike Boucher
In 2007, the SAS Isandlwana took part in the Atlasur Exercise in cooperation with the fleets of Brazil and Chile.[1]
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