At RMC ’ s shipyard in Rauma on the southwestern coast of Finland , the steel cutting ceremony of the first Squadron 2020 multi-role corvette to be constructed for the Finnish Navy was celebrated on 30th October 2023 .
The first corvette has been scheduled for completion in 2026 , with two more vessels to follow in 2027 and the fourth in 2028 . This major ship project ensuring the Finnish national maritime defence capabilities has been in preparation for several years .
” The first spark for these multipurpose vessels was lit up as early as 2007 when ideas for successors for the Finnish Navy ´ s legacy vessels were being preliminarily contemplated within the Navy . Later on , further research on operational , tactical , and technological levels was carried out , to find out how new vessels should actually operate and how their capabilities could be utilised in various types of naval operations ,” explains Mr . Timo Ståhlhammar , retired Navy Captain and currently Project Director for Squadron 2020 at Rauma Marine Constructions ( RMC ).
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These four vessels are rather exceptional .
” The Finnish Navy does not order warships upon a spur-of-the-moment inspiration . Procurement of vessels is based on operational needs . In ship designs , possible scenarios for battlefield operations encountered on the current and , above all , on the future battlefields – as well as the required wartime capabilities of new vessels – will be taken into account .”
RELIABLE OPERATION IN VARIOUS ENVIRONMENTS
Finnish Navy ’ s new Pohjanmaa-class vessels will monitor the Finnish sea area , repel attacks from the sea , protect the vital sea infrastructure of communication and safeguard vital assets at sea and in the archipelago . This will ensure that the Navy will be able to conduct its statutory defence tasks well into the future and control the sea and archipelago areas having significance from the perspective of operations .
The high-performance vessels are designed to operate in the Baltic Sea all year round in various circumstances , ranging from autumn storms to icy and freezing conditions .
” These four vessels are rather exceptional , with their versatile capabilities optimised for this northern operating environment ,” Mr . Ståhlhammar notes .
” In September 2019 , the contract between Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command and RMC Defence was signed . This started the project for the eventual design and production of four new multipurpose corvettes .”
The multi-role corvettes will have a length of 117 metres , a width of 16 metres
26 seatec 2 / 2023