The Hämeenmaa-class is one of the last examples of its kind.
For a long time, the modern navies have not been interested in the dedicated minelayers.
Even FNS Hämeenmaa and FNS Uusimaa are now nearing their final days.
Or are they not?
As the Weapons Detective, we are investigating the Hämeenmaa-class and the place of the
minelayers in the modern navies.
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The Hämeenmaa-class is representative of an almost extinct naval ship type, the minelayer.
But, can we argue that in their 30-year service life, FNS Hämeenmaa and FNS Uusimaa have
been entirely useless?
There is a dilemma there.
If these ships were unneeded, why has the Finnish Navy not retired them yet?
Or, if they are valuable assets, why will Finland decommission the Hämeenmaa-class
without replacing them with new minelayers soon?
Before seeking answers, we should briefly look at the roots of the Finnish Navy's minelayer
tradition.
FNS Louhi conducted many critical minelaying operations in the Winter War and the Continuation
War.
Finland also commissioned two Ruotsinsalmi-class vessels in 1940 and 1941 to improve its minelayer
fleet.
During the Second World War, these three ships also performed many other duties, such as
escorting, minesweeping, submarine hunting, and supplying submarines.
They were a pain in the neck of the Soviet Baltic Fleet.
So, when the 1947 Paris Peace Treaties limited the Finnish Navy to a fleet of no more than
10,000 tons and 4,500 men, Moscow insisted on adding a clause in the agreement that prohibited
the use of sea mines.
After a while, the restrictions were eased, and Finland commissioned the minelayer FNS
Keihässalmi in 1957.
But, this 360-ton ship was too small and under-armed for other missions.
So, in 1979, the Finnish Navy commissioned the FNS Pohjanmaa.
This 1,450-ton vessel could create a 150-mine minefield at a time and also act as a submarine
hunter, escort ship and command ship.
Her big cargo bay was suitable for troop and supply transport.
Besides, she was serving as a training ship.
FNS Pohjanmaa, which looked like an auxiliary vessel rather than a surface combatant, was
an ideal naval platform for Finland not to provoke the Soviet Union.
So, in the late 1980s, the Finnish Navy decided to grow its minelayer fleet with two big vessels.
Helsinki signed a contract with Wärtsilä Marine to build two Hämeenmaa-class ships
in 1989 and 1991.
But, the shipyard went bankrupt, and the contract was transferred to Hollming.
In early 1992, this company and Rauma Yards merged to form a new company called Finnyards,
which built the Hämeenmaas.
The first ship of the class, FNS Hämeenmaa, was laid down on April 2, 1991, launched on
November 11, 1991, and commissioned on April 15 1992.
The second vessel, FNS Uusimaa, was commissioned on December 2, 1992.
The Hämeenmaa-class is a seagoing ship.
It has a steel hull, which is Ice Class 1A ice-strengthened.
The vessel can break up to 40 millimetres of ice.
The superstructure is constructed from aluminium alloy.
The ship's vital areas are reinforced with Kevlar and steel armour plates.
The Hämeenmaa-class has a stealthy design.
Some sources claim that its design included some first attempts at stealth technology
in the Finnish Navy.
But, during the design phase of the Rauma-class, ordered in 1987, the Finnish naval engineers
had already worked on reducing the magnetic, thermal, radar and noise levels of these missile
boats.
The Hämeenmaa-class has ramps in both bow and stern.
The stern ramp is generally employed for minelaying operations.
Also, the combination of bow and stern ramps enables the ship to be used for ro-ro transport.
The ship, fitted with a bow thruster, has two controllable pitch propellers, which provide
better manoeuvrability.
Finland modernized FNS Hämeenmaa and FNS Uusimaa between 2006 and 2008 to upgrade the
ships' equipment to fit modern standards.
We will mention the changes systems by systems later.
The second reason for this modernization was Helsinki's decision to participate in the
overseas European Security and Defence Policy operations.
But, the previous FNS Pohjanmaa served in Operation Atalanta in 2011.
The Hämeenmaa-class vessels have not been deployed outside the Baltic Sea for such missions
until now.
Still, we should add that FNS Hämeenmaa and FNS Uusimaa have played essential roles in
the Baltic security operations of the European Union.
According to official data from the Finnish Navy, the complement of the Hämeenmaa-class
is 60-person.
It has a length of 77 metres, a beam of 11.5 metres, and a draught of 3 metres.
The vessel's fully loaded displacement is 1,300 tons.
The propulsion system of the Hämeenmaa-class consists of two 3,490 horsepower Wärtsilä
Vasa 16V22 diesel engines, two Kamewa controllable pitch propellers and a bow thruster.
Its maximum speed is 20 knots.
The Hämeenmaa-class has one eight-cell vertical launching system for the Umkhonto air defence
missiles, one 57mm SAK Mk1 gun, two 12.7mm NSV machine guns, two RBU-1200 five-barrel
anti-submarine rocket launchers, and two rails for depth charges.
The ship can lay 100 to 150 sea mines via its four rails.
The C-band TRS-3D/16 ES surveillance radar of the Hämeenmaa-class, which replaced the
I-band ARPA, has up to 200 kilometres range.
It can track 750 targets and perform the weapon control function at 21 kilometres.
Yet, the weapon systems are controlled by the Ku-band CEROS 200 radar and optronic tracking
fire control director, which replaced the Radamec System 2400 and Galileo.
Initially, the Hämeenmaa-class was fitted with the Simrad sonar.
It now has the Kongsberg ST2400 variable depth sonar and the SS2030 hull-mounted sonar.
The ship's Saab 9LV325E fire control system has Link-16 and Link-22 features, which provide
a high network-centric warfare capability.
These vessels have the Multi Ammunition Softkill System, shortly MASS, for self-defence.
The MASS protects the ship against anti-ship missile attacks by launching decoys that operate
in all relevant wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as ultraviolet, electro-optical,
laser, infrared and radar.
The Umkhonto IR air defence missile, whose Finnish Navy designation is ITO 2004, can
engage eight targets simultaneously at a range of 14 kilometres.
It has a maximum speed of Mach 2.2 and an effective altitude of 8,000 metres.
The infrared-guided missile with a 23-kilogram warhead can perform 40 g manoeuvres.
Finland initially acquired the Umkhonto IRs for the Tuuli-class hovercrafts.
After this programme was cancelled, they were fitted on the Hämeenmaa-class to replace
their Mistral missiles.
The initial 40mm L/70-315 guns of the ship were replaced with 57mm SAK Mk1s, which have
a rate of fire of 200 rounds per minute and a maximum range of 17,000 metres.
The 23mm ZU-23-Sako guns of the Hämeenmaa-class were removed after the modernization.
A full salvo of the RBU-1200 anti-submarine rocket systems takes 12 seconds.
Its RGB-12 rocket creates a kill-zone of ​​5 meters in diameter at a depth of 300 meters.
It has a 34-kilogram warhead and a range of 1,200 meters.
Still, since the Hämeenmaa-class is a minelayer, its primary weapon is the Merimiina 2000 sea
mines developed by Patria.
These mines are triggered by acoustic signature, produced by propeller sounds and the noise
of the machines and their axles, pressure excitation, which occurs when a vessel displaces
a certain amount of water as it moves, or the ship's magnetic signature.
Thanks to its stealthy design, the Merimiina 2000 is difficult to be detected.
It has several variants, which can carry 80 to 650 kilograms of charges or torpedoes.
The sea mine is easy and low-cost to manufacture but a highly potent weapon with both tactic
and strategic value.
The most well-known example of its effectiveness is undoubtedly the 1915 Dardanelles campaign.
The sea mines layered by the Ottoman minelayer Nusret prevented the quick fall of Constantinople
and also caused the collapse of the Russian Empire, which could not get the necessary
supply.
Therefore, they affected the course of the First World War.
But, the minelayers are not the only way to lay sea mines.
Today, warships, submarines and aircraft generally do this job in the modern navies.
Even merchant ships can also serve as minelayers.
For example, the UK has paid for some British-owned civilian Ro-Ro ferries to have the necessary
fittings installed during their construction.
By the new millennium, many navies decommissioned their last dedicated minelayers.
Today other than Finland, only Lativa, Romania, and South Korea use this type of vessel.
The Latvian and Romanian ships are old.
Only South Korea is still building new dedicated minelayers.
So, why has Finland kept using FNS Hämeenmaa and FNS Uusimaa in the new millennium?
These two vessels are not just minelayers.
They can also act as escort, transport, training, monitoring/intelligence and depot ships.
Yes, FNS Hämeenmaa and FNS Uusimaa cannot survive in a big naval engagement.
But, thanks to their Umkhonto IR air defence missiles and RBU-1200 anti-submarine rocket
systems, they can protect merchant ships from low-intensity air and underwater attacks.
The mine decks of these ships are also perfect for transporting troops, equipment and supplies.
Besides, this area is used to accommodate the purpose-built containers for sleeping,
storage, and cold storage for food, when the Hämeenmaa-class acts as a training ship.
Since October 2013, FNS Hämeenmaa has served as the flagship of the Finnish Navy.
Her command and control abilities are vital for the naval operation.
Currently, no vessel other than the Hämeenmaa-class has similar capabilities in the Finnish Navy
in this area.
FNS Hämeenmaa and FNS Uusimaa are valuable assets for monitoring the Russian Baltic Fleet.
Their long endurance makes them the best platform in the Finnish Navy for the job.
On August 1, 2019, FNS Hämeenmaa accidentally entered Russian territorial waters approximately
600 meters on such a mission.
It is a fine example of how essential these ships are in monitoring the Baltic Fleet.
Still, the primary duty of the Hämeenmaa-class is minelaying.
Without conducting an extensive minesweeping operation in the Gulf of Finland, the Russian
ship could not sail from Saint-Petersburg in case of war.
But, this job will not be easy.
The Russian surface combatants, which escort the mine warfare ship, cannot easily manoeuvre
near a minefield.
In that case, they could turn an easy prey for the Finnish fighters, coastal missile
batteries and missile boats.
Also, the sea mines layered into the Gulf of Bothnia's entrance have the potential to
deny the Russian naval operations in the region, which is vital to supply Finland in a possible
war.
FNS Hämeenmaa was deployed in the waters of Åland at the entrance of the Gulf of Bothnia
on January 26, 2022, shortly before Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
This deployment is an indication that the Finns also thought so.
So, why will Finland decommission such valuable minelayers soon?
The useful life of the Hämeenmaa-class will end between 2022 and 2025.
They will be replaced by new Pohjanmaa-class multi-purpose corvettes with minelaying capability.
The Finnish Navy began this programme's research and planning phase in 2008 and officially
launched it in 2015.
However, since then, many things have changed.
At that time, Finland was feeling secure, and its priority was to participate in the
overseas operations of the European Union rather than defending itself.
Now, Finland is on the road to joining NATO, which obviously makes Russia angry.
So, national defence has become a priority for Helsinki again.
Many experts have addressed that the Pohjanmaa-class corvettes will have too much draught for operation
in Finnish waters.
They will not be able to create huge minefields as the Hämeenmaa can.
Also, this programme is currently behind schedule.
This situation may extend the Hämeenmaa-class ships' service life a little bit.
But, as mentioned before, they are now tired.
Our analysis is that the Finnish Navy should reconsider giving up such versatile minelayers.
It is the time when they are needed most.
The so-called obsolete minelayers may still be vital for countries like Finland.
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