All weapons and radars were not installed when Absalon was commissioned - cost being the underlying reason - so some systems were added later to bring her and her sister ship up to full duty status. This concept limited the ships on mission readiness standards and the RDN used this time for additional training of the small crew (made up of 100 to169 officers and enlisted personnel - with many women holding command and operational roles in the RDN). The cost of the ship and all her equipment was stated as 2.7B Kroner (or $ 565M in Canadian dollars). The ship displaces at 6,300 tons and is powered by 2 MTU 8000 series M70 x 20-cylinder diesel engines producing 11,000 shaft horse power to twin screws and includes a bow water thruster for ease of docking. Her average speed is 15 knots but she can make 23 full knots (42.5 km/h) and maintain a range out to 9,000 nm (10,356mi) (16,666 km).
The ship has a number of sensors but is fielded with less than is standard on contemporary frigates. The air search radar used is a Thales SMART-SMk 23D complimenting the Terma Scanter 2100 surface radar. Submarine threats are countered by the Atlas ASO 94 sonar and the fire control system is 4 x Saab CEROS 200-series radar systems. The chaff uses the ES-3701 tactical Radar Electronic Support Measures system (ESM).
The RDN has focused on international missions and, starting in 2008, HDMS Absalon was the flagship of the Danish task group with Task Force 150, this force charged with hunting pirates in the Gulf of Aden in conjunction with 20 other nations. In 2008, she captured one-third of the vessels detained by the twelve-ship task force. Task force 150 divided the Gulf into twelve patrol "boxes" with one ship responsible in defending the shipping of their assigned area. Absalon's operating box remains classified but when pirates are sighted, she provides aid at flank speed while representing the Flag Ship of the force. The lower deck is currently being used as a command and control area to manage the Gulf and all suspected pirate craft with the Task Force commander onboard.
Early in December 2008, Absalon spotted a boat with suspected pirates 100 miles off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden. The Somali craft was taken by the Absalon's operations force and boarding party. In such a situation, the two LCP's work together to see if the craft in question is a true fishing boat or a staging platform for piracy. In such an instance, the operation LCP goes in first with an armed force of RDN special forces members who circle the suspects and decide if the boarding party can approach. If the party appears to be pirates, the operational crew takes the lead. In this particular instance, rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 assault rifles were found. The Absalon took the enemy sailors and weapons, sunk the craft and contacted the Yemeni Coast Guard to take responsibility of the prisoners. In February of 2010, Absalon came to the rescue of a crew aboard the tanker Ariella, they having been attacked by six pirates sometime earlier. In response, Absalon launched one of its helicopters with a special force operational team onboard and ran the pirates off. In March of 2010, Absalon sank a Somali ship, an identified staging platform for pirate speedboats, in the Indian Ocean.
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