German shipbuilder unveils new stealth ship

[dArKeR]

The SAS Spioenkop, a MEKO A-200 type vessel built in the Hamburg shipyard of Blohm & Voss, was officially handed over to the South African Navy on Monday.

The ship is part of a four-corvette package being built jointly by Blohm & Voss in collaboration with Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) shipbuilders in Kiel.

The corvette, built to a modern stealth design to avoid enemy radar detection, will be moved to Kiel at the beginning of April for further work before being transferred to South Africa to be outfitted with weapons and specific electronic systems.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=13&art_id=qw1079373241770B253&set_id=1

[Mairead]

1. 'Spioenkop' means 'spyhead' in Afrikaans, I think--a funny sounding name

but appropriate for a stealth ship.

[Demonaut]

2. isn't afrikaans dutch?

[Mairead]

5. It was Dutch in the 17th century, now it's merely a related language

[arendt]

3. Spioenkop was a battle in the Boer War...

It was the name of a hill, on which the Boer Army
defeated the British in one of the early battles of
the War.

I think that "kopje" is an African word meaning hill.
So, its not kop=head, but kop=hill.

Spy's hill or spy's nest is a good name for a spy ship,
not to mention being a battle the SAs won.

arendt

[Mairead]

6. Well, that'll teach me to look it up instead of simply translating it!

Thanks for the info about the battle.

(I somehow doubt, though, that 'kopje' is an African word...not if by that you mean, e.g., Zulu or Xhosa)

[The Sushi Bandit]

4. Painting of SA ship

[BiggJawn]

7. But it still has screws? It makes noise?

It can be found, and it can be killed.

[Merlin]

8. Not to mention sattelite surveillance. Nice sales job, though. n/t

.

[Greyskye]

10. Propulsion System

Still has screws, but also has a waterjet propulsion system. Looks like it could potentially eliminate cavitation noise. :shrug:

PROPULSION SYSTEM
The propulsion system is based on a CODAG-WARP (Combined Diesel and Gas - Water Jet and Refined Propeller) configuration. Two MTU 16V 1163 TB 93 diesel engines (5,920kW each) drive controllable pitch propellers and a single GE LM 2500 20,000kW gas turbine acts on a waterjet propulser system, providing a maximum speed of more than 27 knots.

Link to propulsion pic:
http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/meko/meko4.html

[Beaker]

9. link with more info & lots of pics:

http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/meko/



The A-200’s stealth design incorporates measures to reduce the ship’s radar, thermal and acoustic signatures.