First Baden-Württemberg frigate embarks on maiden deployment to Easter…

Baden-Württemberg departs its home port of Wilhelmshaven bound for the Eastern Mediterranean on 20 October. (Bundeswehr/Leon Rodewald)

The first of the German Navy's Baden-Württemberg (Type 125)-class frigates has departed on its maiden deployment.

First-of-class Baden-Württemberg (F 222) set sail from Wilhelmshaven, Germany, on 20 October bound for Limassol, Cyprus, where it will participate in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission off the Lebanese coast.

Announcing the milestone the same day, the German armed forces said Baden-Württemberg will work alongside other ships in the peacekeeping operation to monitor the Eastern Mediterranean area as well as support the training of the Lebanese Navy until mid-January 2024.

Baden-Württemberg is accompanied by a crew complement of around 140 and embarked soldiers from the 1st Company of German Navy's Sea Battalion.

The German Navy's four Type 125 frigates were built by the ARGE F125 consortium, led by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) including NVL Group (formerly Lürssen Werft) under a contract signed in June 2007.

Their primary role in service is to conduct long-endurance crisis-management operations. To this end, they have been designed to be able to deploy for up to two years at a time without having to return to home base. To cover this continuous operational workload, regular crew swaps take place in theatre, with the high degree of ship automation making it possible to employ a 50% reduced manning concept that features two crews of approximately 100 each (plus 20 for the aviation detachment).

The Type 125 frigates displace around 7,200 tonnes fully loaded, have an overall length of 149.5 m, a top speed of 26 kt, and a range of 4,000 n miles at 18 kt.