Swedish Corvette HMS Helsingborg Transferred to Finnish Command for Border Security

The Swedish Visby-class corvette HMS Helsingborg entered the Gulf of Finland as part of a naval operation to secure Finland’s borders.

For the first time in history, the Swedish corvette has been placed under Finnish military command, according to the SVT television channel.

The decision to involve Swedish forces was made in August following a request from Finland due to ongoing incidents involving drones and airspace violations.

As part of the mission, which will last throughout the fall, Sweden is deploying not only ships but also JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets for joint patrols.

The Visby-class corvette

The corvette HMS Helsingborg is one of five Visby-class ships designed by the Swedish company Kockums for the Swedish Armed Forces.

The corvette class was designed using stealth technology, which significantly reduces the ship’s radar and infrared signature.

The ship’s 73-meter-long hull is constructed of carbon-fiber-based composite materials to reduce weight and magnetic signature.

The corvette has a displacement of 640 metric tons, and thanks to its gas turbine propulsion system the ship is capable of reaching a maximum speed of over 35 knots.

The corvette is armed with a 57 mm Bofors Mk3 artillery system, RBS-15 anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, and anti-submarine depth charge launchers.

As a reminder, on September 24, Finnish and Swedish fighter jets conducted their first joint operational mission to intercept and identify Russian military aircraft over the Gulf of Finland.

Finnish F/A-18 Hornets and Swedish JAS 39 Gripens from the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) force were deployed for the mission. They operated under the command of the Finnish Air Force Command’s Air Operations Centre.

Finland has also completed the construction of a 200-kilometer fence along its eastern border with Russia in three years.