Another Baden-Württemberg-class frigate has been delivered to the Bundeswehr
On January 28, 2022, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems delivered the frigate "RHEINLAND-PFALZ", number F225, to the Bundeswehr
This is the fourth ship of the Baden-Württemberg-class frigate of the German Navy
Rheinland-Pfalz and her sisters have the highest displacement of any class of frigate worldwide, up to 7,200 tons, and are used to replace the Bremen class
She has a length of 149.52 m, beam is 18.80 m, and draft is 5 m
This class of frigates is primarily designed for low- and medium-intensity maritime stability operations
where they are supposed to provide tactical sea-to-land tactical fire support, asymmetric threat control at sea and support of special forces
The Baden-Württemberg class frigate, also known as the F125
has been completely redesigned with highly complex systems and around 28,000 sensors that enable a very high degree of automation
making it possible to reduce the required number of crew members by about half compared to previous frigate classes
Moreover, the ships can remain in their theatre of operations for up to two years
The Baden-Wurttemberg is designed in stealth technology, very difficult to detect: slab siding, enclosed sections, clean lines and minimal protrusions
The bridge section is sat overlooking the bow of the ship and the main mast is enclosed and integrated with the forward superstructure as normal
A second mast is aft of midships with the smoke funnels being enclosed and integrated into the aft superstructure
The aerials of the Cassidian TRS-4D Active electronically scanned array radar will be distributed over the two pyramids
This will ensure that the ship remains operational in case of severe damage, such as accidents or enemy action
The frigate is equipped with a 360° infrared surveillance system
which is installed on the front surface of the tower mast at a position just lower than the air and surface search radar
On the stern is a helicopter flight deck and a full-service hangar, servicing two NH-90 helicopters at the same time, which each have a range of 790km
The frigate has a standard crew of 110 and can accommodate up to 190 when needed
Compared to the previous generation frigates, the number of crews has decreased approximate 50%
which is achieved due to the ship's high level of automation
In addition, this frigate can carry four armed boats provide the necessary transport
The heart of this frigate is the combined diesel electric and gas electrical propulsion system with a 20 megawatt General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine
four MTU 20V 4000 M53B diesel engines providing 2.9 megawatt each and two Siemens electric motors providing 4.7 megawatt each
Giving the ship a maximum speed of 26 knots, an operating range of 4,000 nautical miles
The frigate is equipped with ten guns, ranging from 12.7mm to 127mm for defence against air and surface targets
The main armament on the ship was an Oto Melara 127mm gunboat
with a standard range of 23 km, or increased to 100 km when fired with guided VULCANO ammunition
There are also two 27mm automatic guns on the ship
five 12.7mm remote controlled heavy-machine guns, two 12.7mm manually controlled heavy machine guns
The Baden-Württemberg-class frigate has two 21 cell MK49 launchers armed with the Raytheon RIM-116 rolling airframe missile
The rolling airframe missile is a lightweight, infrared-homing, surface-to-air missile for deployment against incoming anti-ship cruise missiles
The forward launcher is installed immediately forward of the bridge and the aft launcher
is installed on the roof of the helicopter hangar just ahead of the helicopter deck
The strongest weapons of the frigate are 8 RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles are installed on the missile deck, forward of the funnel
The missiles have a high-subsonic speed and a range of up to 130km
However, this was only a temporary solution until the RBS 15 MK4 joint sea and land attack missile becomes available