Braunschweig - class corvette The K130 " Braunschweig " class ( sometimes Korvette 130 ) is Germany ' s newest class of ocean - going corvette s . They supplement the " Gepard " - class fast attack craft that are currently used . Technical details . They feature reduced radar and infra - red signature ( " stealth " beyond the " Sachsen " class frigate ) and will be equipped with two helicopter UAV s for remote sensing . Recently , the German Navy ordered a first batch of 6 Camcopter S - 100 UAVs for the use on the Braunschweig class corvettes . Also the German Army plans to procure the Camcopter S - 100 for land - based missions . The hangar is too small for standard helicopters , but the pad is large enough for Sea King s , Lynx or NH - 90 s , the helicopters of the German Navy . Originally the K130 - class was supposed to be armed with the naval version of the Polyphem missile , an optical fiber - guided missile with a range of 60 km , which at the time was under development . The Polyphem program was canceled in 2003 and instead the designers chose to equip the class with the RBS - 15 . While the RBS - 15 has a much greater range ( 250 km ) , the current version mounted on the ships , Mk3 , lacks the ECM - resistant video feedback of the Polyphem . The German Navy has ordered the RBS - 15 Mk4 in advance , which will be a future development of the Mk3 with increased range ( 400 km ) and a dual seeker for increased resistance to electronic countermeasures . Difficulty of Classification . Vessels of this class do not have an executive officer ( ) . Traditionally , in the Germany navy this was used as a rule to classify a vessel as a boat , not a ship . In a press release the German Navy states that these corvettes will be called ships nonetheless because of their size , armament and endurance . The commanding officer wields the same disciplinary power as a German Army company commander , not that of a battalion commander as is the case with the larger German warships such as frigates . However , in size , armament , protection and role these corvettes resemble modern Anti Surface Warfare ( ASuW ) frigates , the main difference being the total absence of any Anti Submarine Warfare ( ASW ) related sensors or weapons . Technical problems . The new lightweight gearing of the corvettes has experienced severe problems . Until the Swiss contractor for the gearing , MAAG of Winterthur , Switzerland , for whom this was the first contract with the German Navy , can remedy the constructional deficiencies which have been identified early in the operation of the first vessels the commissioning of the three not yet commissioned corvettes has been delayed . They , as well as the first two already commissioned units , are currently laid up and unable to go to sea until the projected changes to the gearing have been effected . New issues have occurred with air conditioning system , gears , toxic exposition by the exhaust system and missile system . While the corvettes were originally projected to be commissioned between May 2007 and February 2009 operational capability is currently expected for 2014 . Ship list . The ships were not actually built at a single shipyard . Sections were constructed at different locations at the same time and later married together . The table lists the yard where the keel - laying ceremonies were held .