The Absalon class, consisting of the Absalon L16 and the Esbern Snare L17, are among the largest surface ships ever built for the Royal Danish Navy
The two ships were commissioned in 2004 and 2005, respectively, and are serving as flexible support ships
Some documents classify them as transport frigates while others consider them combat support ships
In the Royal Danish Navy, the Absalon class is classified as "Command and Support" ships
The Absalon class can be equipped for naval warfare, land attack, strategic sealift missions or as a command platform
They can also be configured as hospital ships or for emergency disaster relief
with the capacity to be transformed from a combat ship with the firepower of a traditional frigate to a hospital ship within a day
The Danish design resembles the French La Fayette-class frigate but has a different mission description
The vessel has a full load displacement of 6,600 tons, a length of 137 m, a beam of 19.5 m, and a draft of 6.3 m
The class is based on a frigate-like design, but built with an internal multipurpose deck and a stern vehicle ramp
The ships can serve as command platforms for a staff of 75 persons with a containerized command and control centre
transport and base of operations for a company-sized landing force of some 200 soldiers with vehicles
Alternatively, the flex deck can be used for mine-laying operations with a capacity of some 300 mines
or be fitted out for mine-clearing operations and launch and recover mine detecting and clearing equipment via a retractable gantry crane
adjacent to the stern vehicle ramp, which also is used for launching and recovering the fast landing craft
The flex deck can support a containerized hospital or simply transport a number of ISO standard containers or some 55 vehicles, including up to seven MBTs
The ships can carry two landing craft, personnel, two rigid hull inflatable boats and two EH101 helicopters
The ship design incorporates stealth characteristics for low acoustic, radar, visual and infrared signatures
Shock protection and isolation are to STANAG 4142, 4137 and 4549.
Parts of the hull are armour protected to STANAG 4569 standard
Manned areas are protected against nuclear biological and chemical warfare to STANAG 4447
The ship has a Terma C-Flex Combat management and Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence system
Systematic and Terma developed the software for the C-Flex
and Maersk Data Defence was contracted for the development and supply of the hardware and system consoles
The communications suite includes tactical data links Link 11, Link 16
civil and military satellite communications operating in EHF, SHF and UHF bands
voice communications in VHF and UHF bands,
civil and commercial communications, and video teleconferencing
Antenna stations are installed for use by army, air force or special forces
In August 2008, Terma was awarded a contract to supply a multi-link system which will interface to the C-Flex combat system
and allow the future integration of Link 22
The standard weapons of the Absalon class can be supplemented through the use of StanFlex mission modules
A special weapons deck is designed with five StanFlex module slots, which only missile-firing weapons modules can be installed
Typical are the 3 × 12 RIM-162 ESSM SAM, and the 2 × 4 Harpoon Block II SSM
A fixed bow-mounted, fully automatic 127mm Mk 45 Mod 4 main gun
For certain anti-aircraft protection, the vessel fields 2 × Millennium 35 mm CIWS
Near the aft CIWS gun are additional defense and weapon systems
four six-tubed SBROC chaff decoy launchers located amidships along with two Mk 32 twin launchers for the MU90 anti submarine torpedoes
For political reasons, the ships were originally launched as "Flexible support ships" to avoid antagonising Russia after the end of the cold war
On the 16th of October 2020, both ships were reclassed as ASW-frigates
Both ships will be upgraded with towed array sonars in addition to the existing
hull-mounted sonar and the Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk helicopters will be equipped with dipping sonars, sonobuoys and torpedoes
This upgrade is expected to complete in 2026