Swedish visit

What do we see there? They are the Royal Swedish Navy's Malmö-class HSWMS Stockholm (P 11) and the Visby-class corvettes HSWMS Nykoeping (K 34) and HSWMS Karlstad (K 35).

Coming from Karlskrona, the Swedish naval squadron arrived in Kiel for a three-day visit in April 2025. All three corvettes belong to the 3rd Sjoestridsflj (3rd Naval Flotilla) of the Royal Swedish Navy stationed in Karlskrona. According to a German spokesperson, the Visby-class stealth corvettes and the patrol boat paid a friendly visit to the German Navy's Operational Flotilla 1 stationed in Kiel.

Since 2016, there has been close contact between the German Navy's Operational Flotilla 1 in Kiel and the Swedish Navy's 3rd Flotilla in Karlskrona. This sponsorship goes back to the time when the current head of the German Navy, Vice Admiral Jan C. Kaack, commanded Operational Flotilla 1 in Kiel. Since then, ships and boats from both flotillas have visited each other regularly. The squadron of the Swedish Navy was

HSWMS Karlstad of the Swedish Navy Photo. Michael Nitz

HSWMS Stockholm of the Swedish Navy Photo. Michael Nitz

led by the guided missile corvette HSWMS Stockholm, built in 1985. She was followed by the two Visby-class corvettes HSWMS Nykoeping and HSWMS Karlstad. These two are among the most modern ships in the Swedish Navy. The 73-metre-long corvettes have a PVC hull made of sandwich construction carbon fibre panels. The smooth, bevelled surfaces significantly reduce radar reflection. This gives the Visby class very good camouflage capabilities.

The main armament of the Visby-class corvettes consists of eight RBS15Mk2 missiles, a missile developed by Saab in Sweden with a 250-kilogram warhead. In addition to a Bofors 57mm main gun in the bow, the Visby's, which displace only 640 tonnes, are equipped with four torpedo launchers. In addition, the five Visby-class corvettes can carry depth charges and mines. The Malmö-class patrol boats have almost identical armament.

The visit to Kiel centred on talks with the German Navy, which focused on naval warfare in the Baltic Sea. After leaving Kiel, the Swedish Navy's corvettes operated in the Bay of Kiel. There, the HSWMS Karlstad carried out helicopter missions with the German Navy. On the photos of the HSWMS Karlstad you can see the folded down rails on the helicopter deck. These are only folded down during helicopter operations.

Text and photos: Michael Nitz / naval-press-service.de