Fridtjof Nansen-class frigate

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The Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates are a class of frigates that are the main surface combatant units of the Royal Norwegian Navy. The ships are named after famous Norwegian explorers, with the lead ship of the class bearing the name of Fridtjof Nansen. Five ships were ordered from Spanish shipbuilder Bazan (now Navantia).

The total projected cost for all five ships in 2009 was Template:NOK (about Template:USD Template:Format price).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of November 2018, four are in active service and one has sunk and was subsequently scrapped.

DesignEdit

The frigates were originally intended as a replacement for the aging Template:Sclasss, with a primary focus on anti-submarine warfare (ASW). Eventually, the need for a robust anti-aircraft defense as well as the possibility of incorporating the Naval Strike Missile surface-to-surface missile produced by Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace led to a more multi-role design. The selection of Navantia as prime contractor led to the design being very similar to the Spanish Navy's Template:Sclasss, including the incorporation of Lockheed Martin's AEGIS combat system.

ImprovementsEdit

The Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates are larger, and have more personnel and equipment than the Oslo-class frigates. Compared to the Oslo-class vessels, the new vessels are 35 meters longer, nine meters taller and two meters deeper below water. They are also five meters broader and have three times the water displacement of the old ships. The frigates operated six NFH NH90 helicopters, with the role as an extended "arm" of the frigates' anti-submarine and anti-surface capabilities but these will be taken out of services (2022) and returned to NH Industries. In 2023, Norway announced the acquisition of 6 MH-60R helicopters. While the helicopters would be prepared to be equipped for anti-submarine operations, they were initially to be deployed with the Norwegian Coast Guard. This meant that the replacement of helicopters specifically to operate off the Fridtjof Nansen-class remained outstanding.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The 2023 defence acquisitions plan indicated that the frigates would undergo technical upgrades beginning in 2025 in order to maintain their operational capabilities.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Service historyEdit

On 26 February 2009, the Norwegian government decided to deploy Fridtjof Nansen to the Gulf of Aden, thereby participating in the ongoing Operation Atalanta, the European Union's counter-piracy campaign in Somalia. Fridtjof Nansen joined the campaign in August 2009.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Fridtjof NansenTemplate:'s engagement in Operation Atalanta was carried out without a permanently stationed helicopter.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Mainly due to delays in delivery of the new NH-90, the ship was equipped with two fast RHIBs for its onboard contingent of maritime special operations forces (Marinejegerkommandoen).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In November 2009 she became involved in a firefight with suspected pirates after being attacked while inspecting a fishing vessel.Template:Citation needed

In December 2013 HNoMS Helge Ingstad and the Danish Template:Sclass support ship Template:HDMS were sent to the Syrian port of Latakia to escort the Norwegian registered RoRo cargo ship Template:MV and the Danish cargo ship Template:MV, which transported Syrian chemical weapons to Italy where they were handed over to a United States Navy ship for destruction in international waters.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

On 8 November 2018, while returning from participation in Exercise Trident Juncture, Helge Ingstad was involved in a collision with a Maltese-registered oil tanker, Sola TS, that severely damaged the frigate and caused a severe list that placed it in serious danger of sinking in spite of its position. The frigate first ran aground and then was successfully beached and tethered with wire cable to prevent it sinking and allow the crew to be evacuated.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the early hours of 13 November the vessel partially sank with only smaller sections of the superstructure remaining above water.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The vessel was recovered but with the cost of repair prohibitive it has been decommissioned and was scrapped.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Ships in classEdit

The ships are named after explorers Fridtjof Nansen, Roald Amundsen, Otto Sverdrup, Helge Ingstad and Thor Heyerdahl.

Pennant number	Name	Ordered	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Status
F310	Template:HNoMS	23 June 2000	9 April 2003	3 June 2004	5 April 2006		Active
F311	Template:HNoMS	23 June 2000	3 June 2004	25 May 2005	21 May 2007<ref>Norwegian Defence Force official website: Første seilas med F311 Template:Webarchive Template:In lang</ref>		Active
F312	Template:HNoMS	23 June 2000	25 May 2005	28 April 2006	30 April 2008<ref>Norwegian Defence Force official website: Tredje fregatt på norske hender Template:Webarchive Template:In lang</ref>		Active
F313	Template:HNoMS	23 June 2000	28 April 2006	23 November 2007	29 September 2009	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Scrapped, January 2021<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
F314	Template:HNoMS	23 June 2000	23 November 2007	11 February 2009	18 January 2011		Active

Future replacement of the Fridtjof Nansen classEdit

In June 2023, the Norwegian Ministry of Defence published The Military Advice of the Chief of Defence 2023, in which General Eirik Kristoffersen (Chief of Defence) recommended that Norway replace the RNoN's in-service Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates and increase the force level to six ships. Delivering a new frigate likely will be central to the government’s long-term plan to build a new surface force structure within a wider fleet renewal programme. The government likely will emphasize the need to deliver the future frigate through partnership with close allies.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In the New Norwegian Long Term Plan on Defence from April 2024, it is proposed to replace the class with five new frigates with the same focus (ASW) as the Nansen class.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ImagesEdit

KNM Fridtjof Nansen-2006-06-01-side.jpg

View of the lead ship of the class, Fridtjof Nansen
KNM Fridtjof Nansen 02.JPG

Close-up of superstructure of Fridtjof Nansen
Nansen-oto75mm-2006-07-03.jpg

The OTO Breda 76 mm gun. Note the low-RCS design of both the gun house and the exposed part of the barbette.
KNM Otto Sverdrup in Trondheim.jpg

Otto Sverdrup leaving Trondheim, Norway, November 2009.
KNM Otto Sverdrup-2009-04-10-Haakonsvern.jpg

Otto Sverdrup at Haakonsvern Naval Base.
KNM Roald Amundsen (F311) underway in the Atlantic Ocean on 16 February 2018 (180216-N-GC347-175).JPG

Roald Amundsen.
KNM Helge Ingstad.jpg

Helge Ingstad
Nor F314.jpg

Thor Heyerdahl
HNoMS Otto Sverdrup at South Quay, London.jpg

Otto Sverdrup moored at South Quay in London, December 2017