Rauma shipyard launches first multi-role corvette for Finnish Navy

The Finnish Navy’s first new corvette has been launched in a festive ceremony as the drydock it has spent the last few weeks sitting in was filled with water on 21 May. The vessel is being built by Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) through its subsidiary RMC Defence Oy, with Saab as a major sub-supplier responsible for combat systems and many of the sensors and subsystems related to that.

As the largest Finnish naval vessels ever operated by the country, the programme is seen as a strategic project for the Finnish Defence Forces, and is funded outside of the normal Finnish defence budget. The programme was hit by delays early on, with the COVID pandemic further causing issues during the start of the programme, but has since apparently remained more or less on the adjusted schedule.

The message from the commander of the Finnish Navy, rear admiral Tuomas Tiilikainen on Wednesday was that all four corvettes will be commissioned between 2027 and 2029. “This project of major importance to the Navy is advancing as agreed.  These impressive vessels will constitute the core of the Navy’s striking power in both national defence and Allied collective defence tasks for the decades to come”, rear admiral Tiilikainen was quoted as saying in the Navy’s press release.

Compared to the Navy’s current force, in which eight smaller fast attack craft built on aluminium hulls constitute the major surface warfare capability, the corvettes will bring not only newer weapons and a more capable anti-air and anti-submarine capability, but also a significant jump in the ability to stay at sea for prolonged periods of time, and the ability to do so year-round regardless of ice conditions. The multirole nature means not only the traditional surface warfare, protection of merchant shipping, air defence, and anti-submarine warfare, but also minelaying. Mine warfare is a traditional area of focus for the Finnish Navy due to the good conditions for mine warfare provided by the shallow and narrow waters surrounding Finland.

As such, the Minister of Defence Häkkänen in his speech at the ceremony noted that while the strong role of Saab in the project is an excellent example of Nordic cooperation in the defence sector, the mines in turn represent a case of Finnish industrial know-how. “The naval mines do come from Finland, as the best naval mines in the world as the result of long-standing technological development are Finnish.”

While the vessels are large for the Finnish Navy, the Navy will at the same time see a reduction in the number of hulls for the surface force. The four corvettes will replace three mineships (of which one is already retired) and four older fast attack craft. The remaining four more modern Hamina-class fast attack craft have recently undergone a mid-life update, as have the Pansio-class minelayers which also will support the surface combatants as tenders.

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