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Combat Fleets

By Eric Wertheim
June 2011
Proceedings
Vol. 137/6/1,300
Article
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In April, Latvia commissioned the Skrunda, the first of five small-waterplane-area/twin-hull (SWATH) vessels being built in Germany by Abeking & Rasmussen. The class was ordered in 2008 as part of a €55 million contract issued by the Latvian government. Measuring 25.7 meters long with a beam of 13 meters, the vessel is intended for surveillance and patrol of Latvia’s Exclusive Economic Zone and territorial waters. The class will be fitted to carry a number of different mission modules between the twin hulls of each ship, ranging from patrol and mine-countermeasures gear to survey and environmental-analysis equipment. The Skrunda’s SWATH hull provides a significantly enhanced stability and sea-keeping capability, reportedly comparable to that of a larger 80-meter monohull vessel. Two diesel engines power the innovative craft to a top speed of 21 knots and allow for a range of more than 1,000 nautical miles. A 35-mm gun may be mounted sometime in the future, and there are fittings for two heavy machine guns and a crane for conducting rigid-inflatable-boat operations from the stern. Four sister ships are to be delivered by 2014.


Thailand has plans to purchase at least two retired Type 206A submarines from Germany. The decision to decommission the submarines early from German service was announced in spring 2010, and the boats still have many years of life in them if maintained properly. Displacing 520 tons submerged and typically carrying a crew of 4 officers and 18 enlisted submariners, the boats were built during the early 1970s and are well suited for coastal and short-range patrol operations. The Royal Thai Navy has long desired a submarine capability, and the rapid proliferation of diesel submarines in the region apparently has provided the final impetus for acquisition. No price or delivery timelines have been announced yet for the deal. The formation of a Thai submarine force could have significant implications for the local maritime balance of power.


The Netherlands recently announced a series of sweeping defense cuts. Reductions to the Royal Netherlands Navy include the early retirement of the underway-replenishment ships Zuiderkruis, which is to decommission in December 2011, and the Amsterdam (pictured here), set to pay off by 2014. This will leave a sizable, albeit short-term, naval-logistics gap until the 28,000-ton Joint Support Ship is commissioned in 2015. The number of Alkmaar-class mine hunters is being reduced to six from the current force of ten, while the number of Holland-class offshore patrol vessels, which are to begin entering service in 2013, has been cut in half from four to two. Significant personnel cuts also are planned, including the elimination of some 12,000 military-related jobs. Belt-tightening has hit the Dutch army and air force equally hard, with plans calling for the retirement of two tank battalions and 19 F-16 fighters.

Mr. Wertheim, a defense consultant in the Washington, D.C., area, is the author of The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, 15th Edition, currently available from the Naval Institute Press at www.usni.org.
The Commander

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