MALMO, Sweden, June 10, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Kockums handed over the Visby corvette to its customer, FMV (The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration) at a formal ceremony held on the ship's helipad on Monday June 10, 2002. The pre-commission inspection has been approved and all the checks have gone well, a fact enthusiastically vouched for by her crew. The new technology works well. Birgitta Bohlin, Director General of FMV, was among those who attended the ceremony.
"It is of course highly pleasing that these pre-delivery checks have been completed in such a satisfactory manner. Today's hand-over of this first vessel in the Visby series is not only a red-letter day for Kockums and its customer FMV it's naturally a red-letter day for the Swedish Navy too. This is final proof that the Visby corvette really fulfils its performance specifications, and heralds the start of a new era in naval thinking," stated Borje Appelqvist, who heads the Surface Vessel Division at Kockums.
The crew now takes over responsibility for the vessel and will continue to conduct a series of sea trials while making some final adjustments.
The Visby corvette is the first vessel in the world designed to full stealth specifications and constructed in carbon fibre, making her extremely difficult to detect, even when using the latest and most sophisticated radar and IR-surveillance equipment. Combining broad multi- mission capability with advanced stealth technology at every level, the Visby corvette is a true vessel of the future. The Visby concept is perfectly geared to the demands of the new network-centric defence concept, currently in the build-up phase.
Stealth technology is currently in the process of changing naval strategy throughout the world. Kockums and the Royal Swedish Navy are first to exploit this technology, which is why the project is being monitored with such keen interest by the rest of the world. Five vessels are currently on order, with an option on a sixth.
Kockums stands for leading-edge, world-class naval technology - above and below the surface. We design, build and maintain submarines and naval systems that incorporate the most advanced stealth technology. Other successful products include the Stirling Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system, submarine rescue systems and mine clearance systems. The Submarine Division is based in Malmo and the Surface Vessel Division, including all production facilities, in Karlskrona. Kockums has 1200 employees in Sweden, and is part of the German HDW Group.
You can download the latest pictures from www.kockums.se. Just go to "News," and click on "Photostock."
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