Roussen-class fast attack craft

HS Roussen, P-67 in Piraeus during Saint Nicholas festival of 2009.
Class overview
Name: Roussen, Super Vita
Builders:
Operators:  Hellenic Navy
Preceded by: La Combattante IIIb
In commission: 2005 - present day
Planned: 7
Building: 2
Completed: 5
Active:
  • P67 Roussen
  • P68 Daniolos
  • P69 Krystallides
  • P70 Grigoropoulos
  • P71 Ritsos
General characteristics
Type: FACM
Displacement: 580 tons / 668 tons fully loaded
Length: 62 m
Beam: 9.5 m
Draught: 2.6 m
Propulsion: 4 × MTU 16V595 TE90 diesel engines 23,500 hp
Speed: 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Complement: 45
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • Thales MW08 3D G-band surveillance radar
  • Thales Mirador electro-optical target tracker
  • Thales Scout MkII low probability of intercept radar
  • Sperry Marine Bridgemaster-E navigation radar
  • Tacticos combat management system
  • Aeromaritime IFF Mk12
  • ICS 2000 integrated communications system
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
  • DR 3000 ESM system
  • Argo AR 900 ESM system
  • 1 SRBOC decoy launcher
Armament:

The Roussen class[1][2] is a seven-strong class of British-design fast attack missile boats improved and customized for the Hellenic Navy, also known as Super Vita. The class is named after its lead ship, which in turn is named after Lt Nikolaos Roussen, a World War II submarines officer who was killed in the suppression of the Navy mutiny in April 1944.

History

The modernization program of the Hellenic Navy in the late 1990s included the construction of three modern missile boats and was signed in January 2000. The construction took place at the Elefsis Shipyards, while Vosper Thornycroft (now BAE Systems Surface Ships) provide the necessary design, logistical support and equipment for the ships. On August, 2003 and September, 2008 options that provided the acquisition of four more vessels were activated with the last ship to be commissioned in 2015.

Design

The plans of the Roussen Class missile boats are based on smaller Vita class boats serving in the navies of Qatar, as well as similar size vessels built for Oman and other countries. The hull is made of steel and the superstructure is made of aluminum, while the company Vosper Thornycroft (now BAE Systems Surface Ships) provides the electricity transmission system, the management board, electrical equipment and systems countermeasures.

Weapons and electronics

The main armament of the ships are eight Exocet MM40 Block II/III anti-ship missiles with a range of up to 180 km. They are complemented by an Otobreda 76 mm naval gun in the bow and two smaller 30mm cannons as secondary weapons located on the ships' superstructure. The vessel's primary anti-air and anti-missile weapon is the RIM-116 RAM missile system which comprises an on board Mk-49 launcher with 21 projectiles, as well as the DR3000 and AR900 electronic support measures systems and the Mk36 SRBOC decoy launcher.

The sensor suite responsible for the timely identification and homing of surface and air targets includes the MW08 3D G-band surveillance radar, the Mirador electro-optical target tracker and the Scout MkII low probability of intercept radar which is being controlled by the TACTICOS combat management system.

Ships

The ships of these class are named after junior officers of the Hellenic Navy who have been killed in action. They are:[3]

Pennant
number		 Greek
name		 Transliterated
name		 Namesake Builder Launched Commissioned Status
P 67 Υποπλοίαρχος Ρουσσέν Ypoploiarchos Roussen Lieutenant Nikolaos Roussen, killed during the suppression of the naval mutiny of 1944. Elefsis Shipyards 12 November 2002 20 December 2005 In service (2018)
P 68 Υποπλοίαρχος Δανιόλος Ypoploiarchos Daniolos Lieutenant Antonios Daniolos, executive officer of the submarine Triton, killed when the ship was sunk by the Germans on 16 November 1942 Elefsis Shipyards 8 July 2003 22 February 2006 In service (2018)
P 69 Υποπλοίαρχος Κρυσταλλίδης Ypoploiarchos Krystallidis Lieutenant Vyron Kristallidis, crew member of the auxiliary ship Pleias, killed when the ship was sunk by the Germans on 22 April 1941 Elefsis Shipyards 6 April 2004 8 May 2006 In service (2018)
P 70 Υποπλοίαρχος Γρηγορόπουλος Ypoploiarchos Grigoropoulos Lieutenant Michail Grigoropoulos, executive officer of the destroyer Vasilissa Olga, killed when the ship was sunk by the Germans on 26 September 1943 Elefsis Shipyards 20 December 2005 1 October 2010 In service (2018)
P 71 Υποπλοίαρχος Ρίτσος Ypoploiarchos Ritsos Lieutenant Nikolaos Ritsos, killed on 16 November 1912 as commander of a naval infantry company during the capture of Chios from the Ottomans Elefsis Shipyards 6 October 2006 10 January 2015 In service (2018)
P 78 Υποπλοίαρχος Καραθανάσης Ypoploiarchos Karathanasis Lieutenant Christodoulos Karathanasis, killed on 31 January 1996, during the Imia crisis, when the AB 212 helicopter PN 21 crashed into the sea Elefsis Shipyards 2018 (expected)[4] Under construction
P 79 Υποπλοίαρχος Βλαχάκος Ypoploiarchos Vlachakos Lieutenant Panagiotis Vlachakos, killed on 31 January 1996, during the Imia crisis, when the AB 212 helicopter PN 21 crashed into the sea Elefsis Shipyards 2018 (expected)[4] Under construction

Similar ships

References

  1. ↑ Information and photos about the ships, Hellenic Navy official website (in Greek)
  2. ↑ Article with detailed information and photos of the Roussen class FACs in navalanalyses.com (11/06/2014)
  3. ↑ "Πυραυλάκατοι (ΤΠΚ) τύπου ΡΟΥΣΣΕΝ" (in Greek). Hellenic Navy. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  4. 1 2 Statement by the alternate minister of Defense Dimitris Vitsas about the progress of the construction of the two vessels while he visited Elefsis Shipyards on 28 July 2017

Sources

  • "Roussen Class (62m Super Vita) Fast Attack Missile Craft, Greece". Naval-Technology.com. SPG Media Limited. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
  • Wertheim, Eric (2007). The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems. Naval Institute Press. p. 267.
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