HNoMS Helge Ingstad (F313)

History

HNoMS Helge Ingstad (F313) is a state-of-the-art guided missile frigate in service with the Royal Norwegian Navy (RNN). She is part of the Fridtjof Nansen class standard, which is exemplified by a total of five boats piloted by Fridtjof Nansen (F310) himself.

At the time of writing (2018), all are still in service.

Helge Ingstad was ordered on 23 June 2000 and her construction was carried out by the experienced Navantia shipyard from Spain. She was then lowered on 28 April 2006 and the hull was launched on 23 November 2007. She officially entered service on September 29, 2009.

Tour

The class is built around widely accepted naval stealth design concepts, so the ship's appearance includes large slab sides and an uninterrupted deck line from bow to stern. Except for the single-deck guns with turrets, the foredeck was barren.

The vertical launch missile bay is located forward of the turret and bridge structure, and is known for its large rectangular windows and towering fully enclosed masts. The smoke funnel has a low profile design and is completely enclosed as part of the hull structure.

The superstructure is a single continuous piece with few breaks in its lines, leading to a secondary structure close to the stern (where a full-service hangar with a helipad is located).

Construction, Machines and Performance

As planned, the ship had a displacement of 5,300 tons, a length of 439.6 feet, a beam of 55 feet, and a draft of 25 feet. Power comes from a combined diesel and gas unit (CODAG) with 2 BAZAN BRAVO 12v diesel cruise engines paired with 1 GE LM2500 marine gas turbine for ramming action.

This arrangement is used to drive 2 axles under the stern. Bow thrusters can be used for fine tuning maneuvers and 4 x diesel generators provide additional power to the boat.

Under ideal conditions, the vessel can reach 27 knots and a range of up to 4,500 nautical miles.

Up to 146 (usually 120) crew on board. An Air Force mechanic and systems engineer supports a helicopter fleet of Navy NH90 medium helicopters. There is also a full-service hangar facility for offshore repair and maintenance.

Weapons and Support Systems

Armament is a mixture of missile-based and missile-based weapons, consistent with this type of modern warship, which can handle most maritime and blue-water missions. This includes an 8-pin Mk. 41 Vertical Launch Systems (VLS) launched from a roster of 32 x RIM-162 ESSM Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAM). There are also 8 Naval Strike Missile (NSM) anti-ship/land attack cruise missile launchers and 4 torpedo launchers (supporting the "Sting Ray" series).

The projectile-based weapon is carried by a single 76mm OTO-Melara "ultra-fast" deck gun with a turret located above the forecourt, and up to 4 x 12.7mm Browning machine guns for extreme close range work. Other notable units include 2 Long Range Acoustic Units (LRAD) and 4 Protector Remote Weapon Stations (RWS).

The 40mm Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) is supported, but not currently installed. The 76mm deck gun can also be upgraded to a 127mm gun if desired, and up to three additional 8-cell VLS pods can be carried for increased firepower at range.

Airborne systems include Lockheed Martin AN/SPY-1F 3D multifunction radar suite, Reutech RSR 210N air/sea surveillance radar and Sagem Vigy 20 electro-optical (EO) guidance system. The MRS 2000 is a hull mounted sonar, and the Captas Mk.

II V1 system is used as a passive/active towed sonar array for anti-submarine warfare missions. The Electronic Warfare (EW) kit includes the Terma DL-12T decoy launcher and the "Loki" torpedo countermeasure system.

Operating career

On a relatively short period of time at sea, Helge Ingstad was assigned to escort merchant ships during the Syrian civil war in the first half of 2014. The ships were carrying chemical weapons stockpiles to be destroyed.

Ingstad was involved in an accident in one of the more embarrassing beginnings of her maritime career when she collided with the tanker Sola TS in the early hours of November 8, 2018. The damage was enough to intentionally run the battleship aground to prevent her from sinking. At least seven crew members were injured in the accident.

For this reason, the warship was initially classified as "retired".

Specification

Basic

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Performance

Performance

Armor

Wing