K130 Braunschweig class corvette (Korvette 130)

Posted by: Andrei Dcs

K130 Braunschweig class, also known as Korvette 130, is a German class of corvettes in service with the German Navy.

A total of ten K130 Braunschweig-class corvettes are planned to be built for the German Navy.

Five were already completed and in active service, while three more are currently under construction.

K130 Braunschweig corvettes replaced the Type 143A Gepard-class fast attack crafts in the German fleet.

The ten ships are divided into two batches with the first five of them comprising the first Batch, while the last five are part of Batch 2.

Unit cost of the K130 Braunschweig corvettes

K130 Braunschweig Batch 1 corvettes have a price per ship of €240 million while K130 Braunschweig Batch 2 ships have a price per unit of €400 million, almost double.

K130 corvette displacement and dimensions

A K130 Braunschweig corvette has a displacement of 1,840 tonnes (1,810 long tons) and a length of 89.12 m (292 ft 5 in).

Propulsion of the K130 corvettes

For propulsion, Braunschweig-class uses two MTU 20V 1163 TB 93 diesel engines producing a combined power of 14.8 MW.

The two MTU diesel engines are driving two controllable-pitch propellers.

Speed and operational range of the K130 corvettes

The German K130 corvette can reach a maximum speed of 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph) and it has an operational range of 4,000 nautical miles (7.400 km) reachable at a constant speed of 15 knots (28 km/h / 17 mph).

Autonomously, the German corvette has an endurance of seven days and can reach 21 days with tender help.

K130 Braunschweig complement

The complement consists of 65 members including the commander, 10 officers, 16 chief petty officers, and 38 enlisted.

Sensors and processing systems installed aboard the K130 Braunschweig ships

The sensors and the processing systems of the Braunschweig class include the Cassidian TRS-3D multifunction passive electronically scanned array (PESA) C-Band radar along with two navigation radars.

Braunschweig also has an MSSR 2000 i IFF system, MIRADOR electro-optical sensors, the UL 5000 K ESM suite, and Link 11 and Link 16 communication systems.

K130 Braunschweig electronic warfare systems and decoys

The electronic warfare system installed onboard is the UL 5000 K electronic countermeasure (ECM) suite.

Braunschweig also uses two TKWA/MASS (Multi Ammunition Softkill System) decoy launchers.

Armament of the K130 Braunschweig corvettes

K130 Braunschweig is armed with naval guns, a CIWS system, anti-ship missiles, and also has the capability to lay mines.

The main gun is a 76 mm OTO Melara naval gun, completed by two Mauser BK-27 autocannons.

K130 is equipped with four RBS-15 Mk.3 anti-ship missiles, co-developed by the Swedish and German companies Saab Bofors Dynamics, respectively Diehl BGT Defence.

For aerial warfare, the German corvette has two RAM Block II Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) launchers, each fitted with 21 air-to-ground missiles.

Braunschweig has mine-laying capability, having two mine racks of 34 Mk 12 naval mines.

K130 Braunschweig aviation facilities

K130 Braunschweig class corvette has a helicopter pad and a hangar, but the hangar is too small to host a medium helicopter.

Instead, the hangar can accommodate two Saab Skeldar VTOL helicopter UAVs.