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Valour Class Patrol CorvettesThe South African Valour class patrol corvettes will be (as of early 2004) the major surface units of the South African Navy. The German manufacturer designates them as the MEKO A-200SAN class, successors to the MEKO class. They are built to a stealthy design, through the extensive use of "X-form" structure design in which right angles are avoided and techniques to reduce the infrared signature, such as exiting the exhaust below the waterline. Blohm + Voss, the designers, claim the class has the radar cross section of a vessel half its size, 75% less infrared signature than previous designs as well as a 20% lower life cycle cost, 25% less displacement and 30% fewer crew. Ships of the class Specifications Length, overall: 121 m
Length, waterline: 107,3 m
Beam, overall: 16,34 m
Max displacement: 3 700 tons
Draught, navigation: 5,95 m
Crew (incl helicopter): 124
Propulsion: CODAG WARP: (2 diesels 5920 kW each, 2 shafts for cruise; 1 gas turbine 20000 kW, 1 waterjet)
Speed (CODAG): About 30 knots
Speed, 1 x diesel only: 18 knots
Speed, 2 x diesels only: 23 knots
Speed, gas turbine only: 25 knots
Max Speed: 27 knots
Range at 16 knots: Over 8 000 nautical miles
Endurance (stores): 28 days
Note: CODAG WARP: COmbined Diesel And Gas turbine and Waterjet And Refined Propellors. History The four Valour class patrol corvettes are a German design by the firm Blohm + Voss, designated as MEKO A-200SAN by the shipbuilders, and are part of Blohm + Voss's MEKO series of frigates. Similar ships are being built in Poland for the Polish Navy. They are/were built by Blohm + Voss shipyards in Germany, two in Hamburg and the other two in Kiel. Armament Each of the Valour class ships has the following armament: - One 76 mm Oto Breda gun.
- Two 35 mm LIW (Denel) 35DPG dual purpose twin-barreled guns.
- Two 20 mm Oerlikon Mk1 cannon.
- Eight MBDA MM 40 Exocet Block 2 surface-to-surface missiles (mounted in two four-cell launchers).
- Sixteen Umkhonto surface-to-air missiles (mounted in two eight-cell vertical launchers).
- Torpedoes using two twin 324mm tubes (i.e. four tubes in total).
Each vessel will also carry a Westland Super Lynx medium-sized helicopter.
However, the flexibility of the hangar and flight-deck design enables a wide range of helicopter options to fit requirements, such as: 2 Westland Super Lynx helicopters (sea state 6 day and night operation); or 1 Westland Super Lynx plus 2 drone UAVs; or 1 Atlas Oryx (sea state 5 day and night operation); or 1 Rooivalk (sea state 5 day and night operation). External links * Naval Technology page on MEKO A
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