German corvette deploying for Lebanon mission

German Navy corvette FGS Ludwigshafen am Rhein and her crew of 64 will depart naval base Warnemünde on May 17 to start an eight-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea.

The corvette will support the maritime task force of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, currently led by the Brazilian Navy.

Established in October 2006 at the request of the government of Lebanon, UNIFIL MTF currently has about 800 personnel and six ships: one each from Bangladesh, Brazil, Germany, Greece, Indonesia and Turkey.

FGS Ludwigshafen am Rhein will relieve sister FGS Oldenburg, which has been part of the mission since September 2018.

The German Navy currently operates five Braunschweig-class (K 130) corvettes, with five more on order. Measuring 90 meters in length, the ocean-going ships are designed for operation in coastal waters, augmenting the capabilities of fast attack boats and frigates. They are equipped with the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) system, two 27 mm Mauser MLG27 remote-controlled, fully-automatic cannons, and one OTO Melara 76 mm gun.