Altair-class training ship

The Altair class is a series of training ships in use by the Swedish Navy within the Swedish Naval Warfare Centre.[2] It is the newest and only class of training ships in service with the Swedish Navy that isn't schooners.

HSwMS Altair
Class overview
NameAltair
BuildersSwede Ship Marine
Operators Swedish Navy
CostSEK 26 million (2008)
In commission2008–present
Planned6
Completed5
Cancelled1
Active5
General characteristics
TypeTraining ship
Displacement83.6 long tons (85 t)
Length26.0 m (85 ft 4 in)[1]
Beam6.0 m (19 ft 8 in)[1]
Draft1.4 m (4 ft 7 in)[1]
Propulsion2 × MTU 12V2000M90, total rating 3.0 MW[1]
Speed25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)[1]
Complement10 men

History

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After the ageing fleet of minesweepers from the 1940s, then used as training ships, could no longer reach safety requirements to have an operating crew onboard, the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration began a search for an already existing class to commission, but to no avail due to the strict requirements given. Therefore a new project was initiated in 2004 to design a new vessel that would fill all requirements that other boats couldn't. This decision would prove itself to be cheaper and overall better.[3]

Although original plans was to acquire 6 ships of the class, the tight budget given only allowed for 5 to be built.[3][4]

Etymology

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As a collective decision by Gen. Håkan Syrén, RAdm. Anders Grenstad and RAdm. Leif Nylander, all ships were to be named after stars in the asterism Pleiades.[4]

Design

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With a hull made out of aluminum and a length of roughly 26 meters as well as a beam of 6 meters, each ship has an expected service life of 25 years. Although the ships aren't built for combat duties they still maintain the ability to be modified into a buoy boat for submarine hunting if the need arises. The ships may also be fitted with M2 Brownings (Designation "Kulspruta 88") although it isn't standard issue.[3]

Units

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Pennant number Ship name Delivered Status
A501 Altair 12 May 2008 Active
A502 Antares 22 September 2008 Active
A503 Arcturus 5 December 2008 Active
A504 Argo 13 February 2009 Active
A505 Astrea 7 May 2009 Active

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "26 M Naval training vessel" (PDF). swedeship.se. Swede Ship Marine. 2015-11-24. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  2. ^ "Skolfartyg Altair". www.forsvarsmakten.se (in Swedish). Försvarsmakten. 2021-02-11. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
  3. ^ a b c Petersson, Ulf (2008). "Egenutvecklade skolfartyg bästa lösningen" (PDF). Protec (in Swedish) (3). FMV: 10–11. 0346-9611. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-08-13.
  4. ^ a b Ivansson, Hans (2009-02-17). "Nya skolfartyg till marinen". fmv.se (in Swedish). FMV. Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2024-02-18.