Denmark sends warship Iver Huitfeldt to the Red Sea to protect civilian vessels
The Danish air defense frigate Iver Huitfeldt sailed from its home port towards the Suez Canal on Monday.
This was reported by the official website of the Ministry of Defense of Denmark.
The frigate will join the coalition forces that protect civilian vessels in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Thanks to its powerful anti-aircraft missile armament, the frigate will provide long-range air defense.
The Danish Ministry of Defense decided to strengthen the coalition in the Red Sea after a Houthi missile hit a tanker with oil products.
In addition, the Defense Ministry announced that the frigate will join the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian after the parliament gives final approval, which is expected on February 6.
Also, France deployed a second frigate to the Red Sea region eight days ago, and Belgium is sending the Louise Marie frigate to join the European Union mission.
The Danish frigate Iver Huitfeldt is the lead ship of the series, which was created to provide echeloned air defense.
To detect air targets at long range, the frigate is equipped with a SMART-L radar with an active phased array antenna, which provides a maximum range of over 400 km.
APAR multi-channel antenna arrays are used to guide anti-aircraft missiles. Thanks to its advanced element base, each array can simultaneously guide up to 32 missiles.
The ship is equipped with a 32-cell Mk.41 vertical launch system used for SM-2 IIIA long-range missiles. Additionally, the frigate is equipped with a small-sized Mk.56 12-cell launcher that can hold 24 ESSM missiles.
As Militarnyi previously reported, the Royal Navy missile destroyer HMS Diamond intercepted a Houthi drone over the Red Sea.
To intercept the air target, the destroyer used Sea Viper (Aster) missiles from the ship’s Principal Anti-Aircraft Missile System (PAAMS). The interception reportedly took place on January 27.
