HNLMS De Ruyter (F804)

History

In the 1990s, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain signed a three-country agreement to jointly design, develop and build a new generation of guided missile frigates. This led to the Saxony class in Germany, the Dezeven provincial class in the Netherlands and the Alvaro de Bazan class in Spain - all of which share a high degree of commonality that makes these frigates truly European in origin (and have the same form and function starts).

For the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNN), the De Zeven Provincien class becomes a group of four state-of-the-art surface fighters, consisting of the lead ship HNLMS De Zeven Provincien (F802) itself and sister HNLMS Tromp (F803), HNLMS De Zeven Provincien (F802) Ruitt (F804) and HNLMS Everson (F805).

Druid, laid 1 September 2000, launched 13 April 2002, commissioned 22 April 2004. She is currently (2019) active on RNNs??.

When completed, it will have a displacement of 6,050 tons at full load, a length of 144 meters, a width of 18.8 meters and a draft of 5.18 meters. There is a typical crew of 174 on board, which can be increased to 227. DECCA NAV Navigation Radar. Thales Netherlands also supplies Scout surface search/navigation units, Sirius IRST long-range infrared (IR) surveillance/tracking units and Mirador optical surveillance/tracking systems. The hull mounted sonar is a DSQS-24C from Atlas Elektronik and MK.

XII is the IFF system on board.

The stern area supports a helipad for a single helicopter, and the combined hangar provides a complete service and maintenance facility. Typically, NHIndustries NH90 medium naval helicopters are stationed on board.

Propulsion is on a combined diesel and gas unit (CODAG) using 2 6,800 hp Wartsila 16V26 marine diesel engines and 2 26,100 hp Rolls-Royce Spay SM 1C gas turbines. This arrangement drives the rear of two shafts with five-blade controllable pitch propeller units.

The CODAG system relies on diesel generator sets for general cruising, combined with gas turbines for high-speed cruising.

The installed weapons allow the warship to respond to almost any threat at sea. The leading kit is the 127mm/54 caliber OTO-Melara Dual Purpose (DP) deck gun with a turret for long-range projectile firing.

Close defense will consist of 2 x 30mm Thales Naval Dutch "Goalkeeper" Gatling Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWS) (one forward of the main mast and the other above the tail of the helicopter hangar) and Extreme Close-In these pieces Are 2 to 4 x 12.7mm Browning M2 Heavy Machine Guns and up to 6 x 7.62mm FN MAG General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG). Completing the projectile/ballistics-based weapon is the 2 x Twin Mk.

32 Mod 9 Torpedo Launchers, supporting the Thor Mk. 46 Mod 5 torpedo series.

The heart of this guided missile cruiser is its missile support. This is a 40 unit Mk. The 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) supports the Raytheon Evolution Sea Sparrow medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) and the Raytheon Standard Missile SM-2 IIIA medium- and long-range SAM.

8 x Harpoon Anti-Ship Missiles (ASM) are also placed.

The ship also has built-in stealth beyond its plate side structure: there are measures to reduce the magnetic signature of the hull as well as the acoustic signature of the ship from prying eyes. Special design qualities are designed to specifically channel direct hit blasts to mitigate overall damage. Two main fortresses are provided, as well as a sub-fortress area that provides maximum protection for the ship's vital operational components. Critical systems have inherent redundancy and use isolation in all areas, constantly generating dangerous noise levels.

Survivability is key, with construction, weapons and electronic warfare (EW) all contributing to the ship.

While at sea, Druid was deployed nationally and internationally, participating in several NATO-led operations, mainly in Mediterranean waters. She was deployed near Bahrain during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2006 and received the first RNN Frigate Commander (Janet Moran) in 2007.

Like other Western naval ships, the Druid was called to Somali waters in 2013 to participate in anti-piracy operations in the region. This was followed by NATO's Steadfast Jazz exercise in the Baltic in 2013. In 2018, she took part in another NATO naval operation "Trident" in Norwegian waters.

Specification

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