Altair-class training ship

	HSwMS Altair
Class overview
Name	Altair
Builders	Swede Ship Marine
Operators	Swedish Navy
Cost	SEK 26 million (2008)
In commission	2008–present
Planned	6
Completed	5
Cancelled	1
Active	5
General characteristics
Type	Training ship
Displacement	83.6 long tons (85 t)
Length	26.0 m (85 ft 4 in)
Beam	6.0 m (19 ft 8 in)
Draft	1.4 m (4 ft 7 in)
Propulsion	2 × MTU 12V2000M90, total rating 3.0 MW
Speed	25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Complement	10 men

The Altair class is a series of training ships in use by the Swedish Navy within the Swedish Naval Warfare Centre.^[2] It is the newest and only non-schooner class of training ships currently in service with the Swedish Navy.

History

After the aging fleet of 1940s-era minesweepers, then used as training ships, could no longer meet safety requirements for an operating crew, the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration sought an existing vessel class to commission. However, strict requirements made this unfeasible. As a result, a new project was launched in 2004 to design a vessel that could meet all necessary criteria. This approach ultimately proved to be both more cost-effective and more suitable.^[3]

Although the original plan was to acquire six ships of the class, budget constraints limited production to five.^[3]^[4]

Etymology

As a collective decision by Gen. Håkan Syrén, RAdm. Anders Grenstad and RAdm. Leif Nylander, all ships were to be named after stars in the asterism Pleiades.^[4]

Design

Each ship features an aluminum hull, a length of approximately 26 meters, and a beam of 6 meters, with an expected service life of 25 years. While not designed for combat, they can be modified into buoy boats for submarine hunting if needed. Additionally, they can be equipped with M2 Browning machine guns, though this is not standard.^[3]

Units

Pennant number	Ship name	Delivered	Status
A501	Altair	12 May 2008	Active
A502	Antares	22 September 2008	Active
A503	Arcturus	5 December 2008	Active
A504	Argo	13 February 2009	Active
A505	Astrea	7 May 2009	Active

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "26 M Naval training vessel" (PDF). swedeship.se. Swede Ship Marine. 2015-11-24. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
^ "Skolfartyg Altair". www.forsvarsmakten.se (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 2021-02-11. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
^ ^a ^b ^c Petersson, Ulf (2008). "Egenutvecklade skolfartyg bästa lösningen" (PDF). Protec (in Swedish) (3). FMV: 10–11. 0346-9611. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-08-13.
^ ^a ^b Ivansson, Hans (2009-02-17). "Nya skolfartyg till marinen". fmv.se (in Swedish). FMV. Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2024-02-18.

[:2-1] "26 M Naval training vessel" (PDF). swedeship.se. Swede Ship Marine. 2015-11-24. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-02-20.

[2] "Skolfartyg Altair". www.forsvarsmakten.se (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 2021-02-11. Retrieved 2024-02-18.

[:0-3] Petersson, Ulf (2008). "Egenutvecklade skolfartyg bästa lösningen" (PDF). Protec (in Swedish) (3). FMV: 10–11. 0346-9611. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-08-13.

[:1-4] Ivansson, Hans (2009-02-17). "Nya skolfartyg till marinen". fmv.se (in Swedish). FMV. Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2024-02-18.

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