History
Much of the design was based on the experiences learned from the experimental ship HSwMS Smyge. The class was originally designed to be divided into two subcategories where some ships were optimized for surface combat and others for submarine hunting; however, this was changed due to cutbacks.
A helicopter, such as the AgustaWestland A109M selected by Sweden, can land, take off, and refuel on the upper deck. A helicopter hangar was originally planned but was considered to be too cramped and was removed.
The ships took an exceptionally long time from launch to delivery and the construction has been fraught with repeated delays. In 2008, the only weapons system that had been integrated and tested in Visby was the gun.
Finally, on December 16, 2009, the first two of the corvettes were delivered to the Royal Swedish Navy by the FMV. The two ships, K32 and K33, were delivered with underwater and surface/air sensors fully integrated. However, the only weapon that had been integrated and test fired on the ships was still the Bofors 57 Mk3 gun. The FMV calls this version 4, which aims to get the ships into service and start training crews.
Version 5 is due in 2012, and is intended to supplement the ships with mine clearance systems, helicopter landing capability (only K31 is certified to date), anti-surface ship missiles and additional stealth adaption. HMS Visby was the first of the corvettes to be upgraded to Version 5. On 22 March 2012 RMV reported that the ship had been modified and that the system would now be tested before reentering the Swedish Navy by the end of 2012.
Although the design of the ships originally called for the installation of surface-to-air missiles, in 2008 the decision was made not to install any, because of budget considerations.
Read more about this topic: Visby Class Corvette
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