HDMS Absalon (L16)

History

The HDMS Absalon (L16) class and her sister ship, the HDMS Esbern Snare, are two of the largest ships ever built by the Royal Danish Navy (RDN). Some classify them as transport frigates, while others consider them combat support ships.

However, the RDN classifies the Absalon class as a "command and support" class vessel and discontinues all discussions.

HDMS Absalon is named after the Danish archbishop and statesman Absalon, who built the first fort in the city that would eventually become Copenhagen. Built by the Odense Lindo Shipyard, HDMS Absalon (L16) started construction in 2003 and the vessel became fully operational in 2007 as the flagship of the RDN.

The Danish design is similar to the French Lafayette-class frigates, but with a different mission statement - a command ship rather than a pure warship.

Attractive hull and superstructure design minimizes right angles and provides a small diffuse radar signature for the class. RDN chose to use this class for multiple missions instead of normal frigate missions. The lower vehicle and LCP deck is a large space of 900 square meters - 84 x 10.9 x 5 m, suitable for a multi-tasking concept and can accommodate up to 450 tons of different cargo. To access this space, a "Ro/Ro" ramp along the rear can accommodate vehicles as heavy as a 62-ton Leopard main battle tank - meaning a large number of vehicles can be used from A type.

This space can also be used as a 24-hour ready hospital module or as additional accommodation for about 300 soldiers.

At sea, many amphibious ships can access the LCP deck via a ramp when descending into the water. The second (and smaller) "Ro/Ro" ramp is located on the starboard side of the beam, with a port on the port side for launching and recovering two Swedish designed LCPs.

These boats use water jets, have a crew of 3, can accommodate 10 well-equipped soldiers or passengers, and are capable of sailing 200 nautical miles (370 km) at 40 knots.

The rear upper deck is an 850 sqm helipad. The deck can accommodate heavy helicopters up to 20 tons, such as twin-rotor Chinooks. The normal compliment is two AgustaWestland EH-101 "Merlin" helicopters (or two Westland "Lynx" series) stored in two hangars in front of the launch/landing pad. For quick response, the EH-101 system can be refueled in as little as 10 minutes.

When the mission doesn't require a helicopter, the hanger and rear deck can be used for additional vehicle or cargo storage - living up to her true definition of "multi-mission" capability. The boat has 16 watertight compartments for emergency flooding or damage from attack.

The ship's armament consists of a fully automatic 5" (127 mm) Mk 45 Mod 4 main gun fixed to the bow. The gun was chosen for its precision surface fire attack on coastal targets, fast surface targets, and even some aerial threats. The Mk 45 is controlled by either the Mk 86 gun fire control system or the Mk 160 gun computing system.

The gun has a range of up to 13 nautical miles and can fire 16-20 rounds per minute. Magazine capacity is 475-500 rounds. For some air defense protection, the ship has 2 CIWS (Close-In Weapon System). This pistol uses a large multi-chamber cylinder like a revolver.

Unlike a single-shot pistol, however, the CIWS cylinder is powered at high speed and fires 35mm shells at a rate of 1,000 rounds per minute. One is located above the 5" gun and below the main bridge, while the second system is located aft above the landing pad - both capable of providing a 360-degree arc of fire.

Close to the stern CIWS gun are additional defense and weapon systems - four six-barreled SBROC hay decoy launchers amidships, and two twin Mk 32 launchers for MU90 anti-submarine torpedoes. In the sunken mid-upper deck area there are two dual quad launchers for 16 all-weather Harpoons - a proven US-origin over-the-horizon surface-to-surface anti-ship cruise missile.

Surface-to-air air defense protection is provided by three rows of 6 x 18 Sea Sparrow vertical-launch missiles, essentially a navalized variant of the airborne AIM-7 Sparrow medium-range air-to-air missile system.

Absalon was commissioned without all weapons and radars installed - cost was the root cause - so some systems were later added to bring her and her sister ships to full service status. This concept limits the vessel to mission readiness standards, which the RDN will use this time for additional training for the small crew (comprising 100 to 169 officers and men - many women serve in command and operations roles in the RDN).

The ship and all its equipment reportedly cost 2.7 billion crowns (or C$565 million). The vessel displaces 6,300 tons and is powered by 2 M70 x 20 cylinder MTU 8000 series diesel engines producing 11,000 HP on the shaft for twin screw and has a bow thruster for easy docking.

Her average speed is 15 knots, but she can travel at 23 full knots (42.5 km/h) and maintain a range of up to 9,000 nautical miles (10,356 mi) (16,666 km).

The ship has many sensors, but fewer than those commonly found on modern frigates. The air search radar used is a Thales SMART-SMk 23D, which complements the Terma Scanter 2100 ground radar.

The Atlas ASO 94 sonar can deal with submarine threats and the fire control system consists of 4 Saab CEROS 200 series radar systems. The chaff uses the ES-3701 Tactical Radar Electronic Support Measures (ESM).

The RDN is focused on international missions, and as of 2008 HDMS Absalon is the flagship of Task Force 150 of the Danish Task Force, which is tasked with hunting down pirates in the Gulf of Aden with 20 other nations. In 2008, she captured a third of the ships detained by Task Force Twelve. Task Force 150 divided the bay into 12 patrol "boxes", one of which was responsible for defending shipping in its designated area.

Absalon's action box remains secret, but if a pirate is spotted, she'll provide assistance at flank speed while representing the squad's flagship. The lower deck is currently used as a command and control area to manage the bay and any suspected pirate ships with task force commanders on board.

In early December 2008, Absalon spotted a boat carrying suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden 100 miles off the coast of Yemen. The Somali vehicle was taken over by Absalon's contingent and boarding party. In this case, the two LCPs will work together to see if the boat in question is a real fishing vessel or a pirate base platform. In this case, the LCP operation begins by encircling the suspect with an armed force composed of members of the RDN Special Forces and determining if the boarding party is accessible.

If the group is a pirate, the task force takes the lead. In this particular case, a bazooka and an AK-47 assault rifle were found. The Absalon took enemy sailors and weapons, sank the ship, and contacted the Yemeni Coast Guard to claim responsibility for the captives. In February 2010, Absalon rescued a crew member from the tanker Ariella, which had been previously attacked by six pirates.

In response, Absalon fired a helicopter with a special forces commando on board to drive the pirates away. In March 2010, Absalon sank a Somali ship in the Indian Ocean, an identified platform for a pirate speedboat base.

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