Thetis-class patrol vessel

The Thetis-class ocean patrol vessels or ocean patrol frigates,[1][4] also called Stanflex 3000, is a class of large patrol vessels built for the Royal Danish Navy. The class comprises four ships, all built and commissioned in the early 1990s. The ships' tasks are mainly maintenance of sovereignty, search and rescue, fishery inspection and support to local (mainly Greenlandic) authorities. The operation areas are normally Greenland and the Faroe Islands, but the vessels also operate near Iceland on transit between Greenland and the Faroe Islands, and near Denmark.

This article is about the Danish naval vessel class Thetis-class. For other uses, see Thetis (disambiguation).
HDMS Thetis
Class overview
NameThetis class
BuildersSvendborg Skibsværft
Operators Royal Danish Navy
Preceded byHvidbjørnen class
In commission1991–present
Planned4
Completed4
Active4
General characteristics
TypeOcean patrol frigates[1][2]
Displacement3,500 tons,standard
Length112.3 m (368 ft 5 in)
Beam14.4 m (47 ft 3 in)
Height37.0 m (121 ft 5 in)
Draft6.0 m (19 ft 8 in)
Installed power
  • 3 × Detroit Diesel GM 16V 7163-7305 at 480 kW (640 hp)
  • 1 × Detroit Diesel 6L-71N 1063-7005 at 120 kW (160 hp) (EMG)
Propulsion
Speed21.8 knots (40.4 km/h)
Range8,700 nmi (16,112 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Endurance60 days
Boats & landing
craft carried		2 x 7 m (23 ft) RHIBs
Complement47-60 depending on role + aircrew etc.
Sensors and
processing systems
  • 1 × Terma Scanter Mil 009 navigational radar
  • 1 × Furuno FR-1505 DA surface search radar
  • 1 × Terma SCANTER 4103 air & surface search radar
  • 1 × SaabTech Vectronics 9LV 200 Mk 3 fire control system
  • 1 × SaabTech CTS-36 hull-mounted sonar
  • FLIR Systems AN/AAQ-22 SAFIRE thermal imager
Armament
Aircraft carried1 x Sikorsky MH-60R helicopter[3]
Aviation facilitiesAft helicopter deck and hangar

Design

The ships each have double-skinned ice-reinforced hulls so that the ships can break through 80 centimetres (31 in) of solid ice. Thetis has undergone a conversion, first to participate in the CANUMAS-project, and later to become the fleet's flagship, a role that ended in September 2007. Thetis is fitted with Terma C-Flex Combat Management System. The Danish Navy has retrofitted the vessels with 12.7-millimetre (0.50 in) heavy machine guns, Stinger launchers and decoy launching systems. The ships can carry and use multiple StanFlex mission modules.

In the most common role (ocean patrol), the standard base crew is 47 people and 16 conscripts,[5] but in either command ship role or more warfare heavy roles, the base crew is expanded to 60 people plus 4 aircrew for the Westland Lynx Mk.90B and one or two doctors. Accommodation is available for 101 personnel in all.

The ships are assigned to the Navy's 1st Squadron, primarily tasked with the protection of waters around Greenland and the Faroe Islands.[6]

Planned Replacement

After 2025 the Thetis-class vessels are planned for replacement by new MPV80-class vessels, built by Odense Maritime Technology and SH Defence. The new vessels will incorporate a modular concept enabling packages of different systems (for minehunting or minelaying for example) to be fitted to individual ships as may be required.[7][8]

List of ships
Name Pennant
number		 Int'l c/s Shipyard Laid down Launched In service Christened by Decommissioned
Thetis F357 OUEU Svendborg Skibsværft 10 October 1988 14 July 1989 1 July 1991 Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark -
Triton F358 OUEV Svendborg Skibsværft 27 June 1989 16 March 1990 2 December 1991 Poul Schlüter, Prime Minister of Denmark -
Vædderen F359 OUEW Svendborg Skibsværft 19 March 1990 21 December 1990 9 June 1992 Atli Dam, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands -
Hvidbjørnen F360 OUEX Svendborg Skibsværft 2 January 1991 11 October 1991 30 November 1992 Lars Emil Johansen, Prime Minister of Greenland -

Citations
  1. "Thetis Class, Denmark". naval-technology.com. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  2. "Thetis / Stanflex 3000". GlobalSecurity.org. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  3. "Structure of the Air Force". Danish Defence. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  4. Royal Danish Navy: Ocean Patrol Vessels, THETIS-class
  5. "Med inspektionsskibet "Thetis" i det "grå rederi"" (PDF). SIMAC News (in Danish) (22): 16–21. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
  6. "Structure of the Navy". Danish Defence. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  7. Atherton, Kelsey (3 July 2023). "Denmark's new modular patrol boats will tackle a changing Arctic". Popular Science.
  8. McGwin, Kevin (12 July 2023). "Denmark is stepping up as an Arctic sea power". Polar Journal.

References
  • Wertheim, Eric. The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, 2005–2006; Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems. US Naval Institute Press. Annapolis, Maryland. 2005.

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