Squadron 2020 - Pohjanmaa / Ostrobothnia Corvette
The Finnish Navy will decommission a total of seven vessels; Minelayer Pohjanmaa was decommissioned already in 2013 and four Rauma-class fast attack crafts and two Hämeenmaa-class minelayers will be phased out in the 2020s. The vessels scheduled to be decommissioned will be replaced by four multi-role corvettes. They must be replaced by new vessels. Research results and comparisons have shown that a multi-role corvette will be the best replacement option.
Minister of Defence Jussi Niinistö launched the Squadron 2020 project in 2015 but the preliminary work started already in 2008. Before the project’s launch, studies were made on the requirements for new vessels. This developed the capability to design a modern surface combatant and make supporting analyses. The decision on the new vessels will be made during this Government's term of office and the aim is to construct the vessels in 2022-2025. According to plans, the new squadron will be completed in 2028 which means that the four vessels are to be in operational readiness at that point.
While the vessels of the Squadron 2020 project are planned to be constructed in Finland the weapons and sensors will be procured from abroad. Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC Oy and RMC Defence Oy) based in Rauma will construct the vessels for the Squadron 2020 project. The vessels will be built in 2022-2025.
At its plenary session on 19 September 2019, the Government authorised the Defence Forces Logistics Command to make a contract on the procurement of Pohjanmaa-class vessels and a combat system for the Navy. Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC Oy and RMC Defence Oy) based in Rauma will construct the vessels for the Squadron 2020 project. Following the invitation to tender, the Swedish Saab AB was selected as the supplier of the vessel's combat system. In addition to concluding an industrial cooperation contract with Saab AB, Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen decided on the procurement of ship-class propellers and propeller shafts from the Finnish company Aker Arctic Technology Oy. On 08 April 2019, Defence Minister Jussi Niinistö decided the Finnish Defence Forces' Logistics Command will remain prepared for concluding the contract on the combat system for Pohjanmaa-class vessels with only one tenderer, Saab AB, Sweden, which performed best in the comparison of the quotations. The decision means that from now on there will be only one tenderer and that Atlas Elektronik and Lockheed Martin Canada no longer participate in the competitive tendering process. The government to be appointed after the parliamentary elections will make the actual procurement decision.
The initial intention was to make the procurement decision on the combat system in connection with a shipbuilding contract in 2018, but since the tendering process concerning the shipbuilding contract has taken longer than expected, it has not been possible to proceed as planned. Following the resignation of the Government, the procurement decision concerning the combat system can be made at the earliest after the new government has been appointed. Because of the additional delay, the Ministry of Defence considered that the decision to continue the tendering process with the tenderer that performed best in the tendering process is a fair and equitable way to continue the procurement process, because the tenderers have submitted their final quotations and their comparison has been completed. The aim is to reduce risks caused by extended tender periods and cost impacts for the tenderers and the defence administration.
The caretaker government was capable of making the decision on the basis of the above-mentioned grounds. The Office of the Chancellor of Justice was consulted about the competences of the caretaker government.
The combat system to be delivered for Pohjanmaa-class vessels will consist of weapons, sensors, and command and control systems and their integration into vessels. The preliminary invitation to tender was sent in summer 2017 to three supplier candidates – Atlas Elektronik GmbH in Germany, Lockheed Martin Canada Inc in Canada and Saab AB in Sweden. The competitive tendering, which was carried out as a consultation process, reached its final phase in 2018. All three companies were sent a request for a quotation in October 2018, after which the received quotations were evaluated and contract negotiations were conducted. Alongside the combat system contract, the Pohjanmaa-class vessels will be equipped with torpedoes, surface-to-surface missiles, a surface-to-air missile system and naval guns that will be removed from the Hamina-class vessels.
The projected cost of the Squadron 2020 project is EUR 1.3 billion. This covers the vessels, combat system and project costs. Also systems from other development programs and equipment from the vessels to be decommissioned will be installed. In addition to the cost of the vessels, there is also the cost of use, maintenance and servicing. It is possible that the vessels will have to be refurbished after 15 years of operation. As estimated by the Navy, the maintenance costs of new vessels will not exceed those of old vessels. Use and maintenance will be financed from the regular budget of the Defence Forces.
According to the Ministry of Defense, corvettes are ships with a displacement of between 600 and 3,000 tons and frigates are ships with a displacement of between 2,500 and 6,000 tons. The vessels of the "Ostrobothnian" class have a displacement of approximately 3,900 tonnes and are therefore frigate class. However, the Defense Forces call them "Corvettes".
Critics charge that the new Finnish warships would be an easy target for Russia's Bastion anti-ship missile based in Kaliningrad. Large ships are constantly monitored and easily distinguished at sea from the horizon. Military technology is developing by leaps and bounds. Sweden says its new radar is capable of detecting the log within 300 kilometers, meaning that its intrinsic features do not save ships. Russian power in the Baltic Sea is not based on ships, but on long-range missile weapons on the coast.
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