PHOTO GALLERY #38: Erfurt, corvette of the German Navy

Erfurt (F262), corvette of the German Navy

This is another photo gallery from my visit to Kiel in 2019, on the first weekend of the 137th Kiel Week. The Kiel Week (German: Kieler Woche) or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The first weekend of the Kiel Week, the famous Naval Base of Kiel, opens its gates for just four hours per day, for thousands of tourists who are eager to visit the German Navy warships and dozens of foreign warships which visit the city of Kiel, to honor the Kiel Week. Among the German ships moored at the Base, was the third vessel of the Braunschweig-class (K130) corvettes, Erfurt (F262), a ship that was commissioned in 2013. Her sisters are Braunschweig, Magdeburg, Oldenburg, Ludwigshafen am Rhein while five more vessels of an improved batch are under construction, the Köln, Emden, Karlsruhe, Augsburg and Lübeck. Her length is about 89.1m, the beam 13.28m, while the displacement reaches the 2,000t. She features reduced radar and infrared signatures and are equipped with UMS Skeldar V-200 helicopter UAVs for remote sensing. The hangar is too small for standard helicopters, but the flight deck is large enough for Sea Kings, Lynx, or NH-90s, the helicopters of the German Navy. The ship is armed with one Leonardo 76mm dual purpose gun, two (2) Rheinmetall MLG 27 remote weapon 27mm gun systems, two (2) RAM Block II launchers, four (4) RBS-15 Mk 3 (Mk 4 in the near future) anti-ship missiles, Stinger MANPADS, a variety of machine guns and naval mines. The crew is about 65 people. Enjoy more than 90 photos of the warship!

 

The forward mast with the TRS-3D/16 MFR and below, a MIRADOR EOS

The Leonardo 3in gun and the forward RAM CIWS

The sign for the bow thruster

The ship's superstructure

The ship's superstructure. Note the X-shape for small
radar signatures

The ship's bridge

Erfurt, corvette of the German Navy

The bridge and one of the two Raytheon navigation radars

View of the ship

View of the bow

The compact mast that integrates various antennas,
including SATCOM, ECM, ESM, EOS and radars

One of the two MLG-27 RWS is visible

View of the bridge

The forward RAM Block 2 21-cell launchers

Another view of the ship

Bow view

View of the Kiel Naval Base

Erfurt alongside other (foreign) vessels

Corvette Erfurt and U33 (pics of the submarine here)

One of the two MLG-27 RWS is visible

One of the two MLG-27 RWS is visible

The rear mast and rear RAM CIWS

The rear RAM Block 2 21-cell  launcher

Closer photo of the Mk49 GMLS

Note the read MIRADOR EOS and the second navigation/
helicopter approach radar

Water cannon aiming at the flight deck

Water cannon aiming at the flight deck

The flight deck

The flight deck can accommodate up to a 12-ton class
helicopter (Westland Lynx or NH90)

Close-up photo of a RAM launcher

The rear mast that hosts communication antennas, a radar
and a MIRADOR electro-optical sensor

The two double RBS-15 Mk3 and Mk4 (in the future) SSM

RBS15 Mk3 anti-ship launchers

Rear view of the foremast.
Note the SPS-N-5000 ELINT antennas (collar) at the top

The upper dome contains one of the two KJS-N-5000 jammers

The anti-ship launchers amidships

The twin RBS-15 Mk3 canisters

MLG-27 27mm remote weapon station

The MLG-27 achieves a 1,700rds/min and a range up to 4km

Each MLG-27 features and integrated fire control system

View of MLG-27 RWS

View of the rear mast of Erfurt

The ammunition box and the 27mm cannon of MLG-27

SATCOM antenna

The forward MASS decoy launcher.
Note that it contains 32 decoys!

View of the bow deck

The 76mm naval gun and one of the two RAM CIWS

RAM 21-cell anti-aircraft/missile launcher

The modern bridge

The modern bridge

Description of the RAM launcher. A fire and forget weapon
that can even engage surface targets at 6km

View from the bridge

Note that the launcher is loaded with
three RIM-116 Block 2 SAM

Description of the 76mm gun: range 16km, 100rds/min

The weapon firing arcs that equip the corvette

The weapon firing arcs that equip the corvette

The ship has weapons for ASuW, ASW, NL and AAW

Description of the MASS DL

Closer photo of the description of the RAM launcher.

I cannot remember why I took this photo :-)

View of the bridge's consoles

View of the bridge's consoles

View of the bridge's consoles

View of the bridge's consoles

View of the bridge's consoles

Searchlight

The enclosed mast

The starboard MLG-27 RWS

One of the two RIB is visible

The fire control system of MLG-27

The canister contains an RBS-15 Mk3 SSM.
The missile can hit surface and land targets at 200km range!

RHIB and the launching/recovery mechanism

Communication antennas and jammers

The small domes at the second level contain the
jamming systems. At the lower level there are SATCOM antennas

Details of the RIB. It is a 6.1-metre FASSMER
that can accommodate up to 8 persons on board

The rear MASS decoy launching system

The two masts of the K130 corvette

Close up photo of Multi-Ammunition Softkill System

The flight deck can be fitted with rails for minelaying (DM11,
DM41, DM51 and DM61 sea mines).
The ship has a small hangar that can accomodate
two Camcopter S-100 helicopter drones

The RAM CIWS/SAM launcher

The rear (small) mast of the ship

Another view of the ship's flight deck

The ship at Kiel Naval Base

View of the Kiel Naval Base with various visiting ships

View of the Kiel Naval Base with various visiting ships

Erfurt, is the third vessel in the class

The fine lines of K130 corvette

Erfurt (F262), corvette of the German Navy

At each side of the radar there is an ESM (DF) antenna

Although the displacement of the K130 is almost five times greater
than that of the Gepard-class FACM , the radar cross-section is smaller!