Military

Fridtjof Nansen (F85) class Project 6088 New Frigate

Nansen Class frigates replaced the steam-powered Oslo Class frigates from 1960. The ships were designed and built by the Spanish shipyard Navantia in Ferrol, northwest of Spain. One of the modules has been built in Norway, but the compilation was done in Ferrol. The five frigates have all been named by great Norwegian explorers and scientists.

The BAZAN NF project is a 130 m long monohull antisubmarine frigate, with a displacement of 4,600 t, a maximum transit speed of 27 knots, steel hull and superstructure, a CODLAG propulsion plant, an electric plant working in parallel or split mode, provided with helicopter and medical facilities, excellent seakeeping characteristics and enhanced survivability features, with special emphasis on minimising the underwater signature to obtain the most feasible silent frigate. Special emphasis has been paid in the design to ship automation, human factors, ship supportability, life cycle cost and the use of commercial off the shelf equipment, which had been considered as leading factors in the design process.

The Navy has 5 frigates. These are among the navy's largest vessels and are like a small community in the cold. The crew is approximately 120 and operates for shorter and longer periods at sea either alone or along with other vessels. The assignments may vary from sovereignty North Detective, via search and rescue missions in the North Sea to operations in the Mediterranean. In order for a navy vessel to work they depend that everyone can do their jobs and contribute to their field. Therea are a range of features to be covered: Propulsion, power generation,cooking, sanitation, supply service, accident service, maintenance, operation of weapons and sensors - just to name a few areas.

These vessels have a relatively small crew, which means that everyone on board has more tasks in addition to their main function. The service is both interesting and varied. Ther frigates are meant to operate both in domestic and foreign waters. The possibility of international service is absolutely necessary. Norwegian frigates have participated in NATO's standing Atlantic-force for many years and will continue to participate in the years to come. Deployment is usually about 6 months duration. The period runs the vessel together with allied navy vessels, and harbor visits in several of Europe's port cities are common. Crews bunk in 6-man cabins in the vessel's lower section for sailors and apprentices.

The Norwegian fleet is responsible for manning, training and maintenance of the Navy's units and their associated operational support units. Main naval units include the frigates of the Fridtjof Nansen-class, the submarines of the Ula-class, the corvettes of the Skjold-class and finally, the MCMVs of the Oksøy-class and the Alta-class. All units are homeported at Haakonsvern naval base in Bergen, Western Norway.

From 2015, the frigates were supplemented with NH90 helicopters. This will make the frigates more flexible, also when it comes to participating in national and international operations. Norwa acquired fourteen NH-90 helicopters, primarily for maritime service on frigates of the Fridtjof Nansen class and the Coast Guard. NH-90 is a European development of a helicopter in two basic versions: one for tactical squad transport (TTH), and a marine operations (NFH). The helicopter is classified as a medium-heavy, two-car helicopter with a maximum departure weight of 11,000 kg.

France, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany and their respective national aviation industry under the leadership of NATO Helicopter Industries (NHI) have organized themselves into a customer organization (NAHEMA) and a supplier organization (Nato Helicopter Industries), both located in Aix-en-Provence, France. As of October 2015, another 9 nations have gone to the acquisition of NH-90 and so far more than 250 helicopters have been delivered.

Norway is today outside NAHEMA, but is part of a number of areas in collaboration with other NH-90 nations, both in the development phase and in the operating phase of the helicopters. The Norwegian helicopters are produced in AgustaWestland's production facility in Tessera, Italy.

In order for frigates to be able to operate even if they are damaged, the vessels are divided into zones to enable the vessel to be intact. They have thirteen fixed zone and four NBCD zones with ventilation and pressure (gas boiler ). Two of these zones are self-contained with their own power supply and there are two cleaning stations on board.

The frigates are equipped to fight in all maritime warfare areas, anti-aircraft, at the surface and under water. The last of five frigates was handed over to the Navy in January 2011. The five frigates are: KNM Fridtjof Nansen, KNM Roald Amundsen, KNM Otto Sverdrup, KNM Helge Ingstad and KNM Thor Heyerdahl.