Sachsen-class frigate

The F124 "Sachsen" class is the German Navy's latest class of highly advanced air-defense frigates. The design of the "Sachsen"-class frigate is based on that of the F123 but with enhanced stealth features designed to deceive an opponent's radar and acoustic sensors. The class incorporates an advanced multifunction radar APAR and a SMART-L long-range radar which is purported to be capable of detecting stealth aircraft and stealth missiles.
Although designated as frigates, they are comparable to destroyers in capability and size and were intended to replace the Navy's . They are similar to the Dutch , in that both are based on the use of a common primary anti-air warfare system built around the APAR and SMART-L radars as well as the area-defence SM-2 Block IIIA and point-defence Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) surface-to-air missiles.
The German government contracted for three ships in June 1996 with an option on a fourth that was provisionally to have been named "Thüringen", but the option for this fourth ship was not taken up. At €2.1 billion for the three ships, the class was one of the most expensive ship building programs of the German Navy.
Design.
Following the reunification of Germany in 1990 at the end of the Cold War, the German Navy continued the construction program of the former "Bundesmarine" (Federal Navy), which projected a fleet centered on destroyers and frigates. The "Sachsen" class was the second group of frigates to be built in the post-unification era, following the s laid down in the early 1990s. The three "Sachsen"s were ordered to replace the old s that were then over thirty years old.
General characteristics and machinery.
The ships of the "Sachsen" class are long at the waterline and long overall. They have a beam of and a draft of , though the draft increases to at the sonar array in the bulbous bow. They displace at full load. Steering is controlled by a single roll-stabilized rudder; the ships have a turning radius of . The frigates have a crew of 38 officers, 64 petty officers, and 140 enlisted sailors. They have accommodations for an additional thirteen officers and sailors as part of a squadron commander's staff, and they have crew provisions for female sailors. The ships can remain at sea for 21 days at a time.
The ships' hulls were designed on the pattern of the previous "Brandenburg" class to allow for great commonality of parts to reduce maintenance costs; they were built using MEKO modular construction and incorporate seven watertight compartments. The primary improvement over the earlier vessels is the significantly reduced radar signature. The ships were designed with a capacity for an extra of weight, to allow for future additions of new weapons and sensors without compromising the ships' efficiency.
The ships of the "Sachsen" class are equipped with a combined diesel and gas (CODAG) propulsion system. The two operating shafts work independently. The diesel engines are installed in a non-walkable sound-proof capsule. The shafts drive two five-bladed variable-pitch propellers. The General Electric LM2500 PF/MLG gas turbine is rated at and the MTU 20V 1163 TB93 diesels provide a combined . The total propulsion system provides a top speed of ; while operating the diesels only, the ships can cruise for at a speed of . The ships are equipped with four 1,000 Kilowatt diesel generators that operate at 400 Volts (V) and 115 V.
Steering is controlled via the Rudder Roll System, which communicates information about the ship's position and rudder dampening signals, allowing the ships to maintain "almost unprecedented stability" in as high as sea state 5.
Armament.
These ships were optimized for the anti-air warfare role. The primary anti-air weapons are the 32-cell Mk 41 Mod 10 vertical launching system, equipped with twenty-four SM-2 Block IIIA missiles and thirty-two Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles. Point-defense against cruise missiles is provided by a pair of 21-round Rolling Airframe Missile launchers. The ships are also equipped with two four-cell RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile launchers. In 2013, the German Navy considered modifying the ships' long-range search radar to allow the SM-2 missiles to be used in an anti-ballistic missile capacity.
For defense against submarines, the frigates carry two triple-launchers for the MU90 Impact torpedoes. The ships also carry a variety of guns, including one dual-purpose 62-caliber gun manufactured by OTO Melara. They are also armed with two Rheinmetall MLG 27 remote-controlled autocannons in single mounts.
In January 2003, "Hamburg" had a modified Panzerhaubitze 2000 turret with a gun fitted experimentally for the Modular Naval Artillery Concept. The experiment was a feasibility study for the projected F125-class frigate. The gun had a range of and a rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute.
"Sachsen" and her sister ships are equipped with a flight deck and hangar that can accommodate two Super Lynx or NH90 helicopters. The flight deck is rated to accommodate a helicopter in conditions up to sea state 6. The helicopter handling system from MBB-Förder und Hebesysteme uses laser guided and computer controlled manipulator arms to secure the helicopter after landing.
Sensors and countermeasures.
For this role the ships are equipped with an advanced sensor and weapons suite. The primary sensors for this role are the long range surveillance radar SMART-L and the multi-function radar APAR. The SMART-L and APAR sets are highly complementary, in the sense that SMART-L is a L band radar providing very long range surveillance while APAR is an X band radar providing precise target tracking, a highly capable horizon search capability, and missile guidance using the Interrupted Continuous Wave Illumination (ICWI) technique, thus allowing guidance of 32 semi-active radar homing missiles in flight simultaneously, including 16 in the terminal guidance phase. The ships are also equipped with two STN Atlas 9600-M ARPA navigation radars.
Service history.
In August 2004, "Sachsen" completed a series of live missile firings at the Point Mugu missile launch range off the coast of California that included a total of 11 ESSM and 10 SM-2 Block IIIA missiles. The tests included firings against target drones such as the BQM-74E Chukar III and BQM-34S Firebee I, as well as against missile targets such as the AQM-37C Jayhawk and air-launched Kormoran 1 anti-ship missiles. While serving in NATO Standing Maritime Force 1 in 2004, "Sachsen" took part in training operations with the United States' aircraft carrier . Since 2006, the three "Sachsen"-class ships have been assigned to and based in Wilhelmshaven, along with the four "Brandenburg"-class frigates. The seven frigates together form the 2nd (Frigate Squadron).
Operations with American carrier groups continued through the 2000s and 2010s, including inter-operability exercises with "Hessen" and the carrier in 2010. "Hessen" thereafter departed for a cruise in the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, "Hamburg" became the first German ship to fully integrate into an American carrier strike group in March 2013.
"Hessen" served as the flagship of the NATO Standing Maritime Force 1 in January 2013. That year, Atlas Elektronik and Thales Deutschland were awarded a contract to modernize the three "Sachsen"-class frigates, with the project to be completed by 2017. In March 2015, "Hessen" and the frigates and took part in Operation Good Hope, a training exercise conducted with the South African Navy.
Exports.
Rumors emerged in July 2013 that Israel has agreed to procure two destroyers from Germany for €1 billion. These have been rumored to be "Sachsen"-class vessels. Eventually, Israel purchased four s from German shipyards in 2015.