The Niels Juel class is a three-ship class of corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...

s currently in service with the Royal Danish Navy

Royal Danish Navy

The Royal Danish Navy is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish, Greenlandic and Faroese territorial waters...

. They were built in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 at Aalborg

Aalborg

-Transport:On the north side of the Limfjord is Nørresundby, which is connected to Aalborg by a road bridge Limfjordsbroen, an iron railway bridge Jernbanebroen over Limfjorden, as well as a motorway tunnel running under the Limfjord Limfjordstunnelen....

 Shipyard and were launched in the period 1978-1980. In 1998-2000 the three vessels had a mid-life update, as well as a large update on the electrical systems.

The three ships are named HDMS Niels Juel (F354) (nicknamed NIJU), Olfert Fischer (F355)

HDMS Olfert Fischer (F355)

HDMS Olfert Fischer is a of the Kongelige Danske Marine .Laid down in December 1978 and commissioned in October 1981, the corvette operated in the Persian Gulf on two occasions, first in 1990 and 1991 as part of the multinational fleet enforcing the United Nations sanctions against Iraq, then...

 (nicknamed OLFI) and Peter Tordenskiold (F356) (nicknamed PETO). All three vessels are named after famous Danish admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

s, with the debatabale exception of Peter Tordenskjold, a Norwegian-born officer who served during the personal union

Personal union

A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...

 of Norway and Denmark from 1415 to 1814.

These ships are scheduled for replacement by the Ivar Huitfeldt-class

Ivar Huitfeldt class frigate

The Iver Huitfeldt class will be a three-ship class of frigates entering service with the Royal Danish Navy in 2012 and 2013.-Background:...

 frigates.

Design

During the mid-life refit, the corvettes were modified to be able to use the StanFlex

StanFlex

StanFlex is a modular mission payload system used by the Kongelige Danske Marine ....

 modular mission payload system; two module slots were installed aft of the supersturcture.

Duties

The corvettes play an active role in solving a wide spectrum of duties, including escort and protection of other vessels. They were built to the requirements of the Cold War era, notably the need for guarding and convoy duty in the strategically important Danish Belts. Like many assets built during this period, adapting it to changing needs in the post–Cold War period has been challenging, but the Niels Juel Class has benefited from being built from the outset as austere, economical vessels with a large number of possible roles to play. Also among the various tasks for the corvettes are coast guard

Coast guard

A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with...

 duties in Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 national waters, as well as intelligence gathering

Intelligence (information gathering)

Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...

.

It is normal routine for the Danish corvettes to participate in international operations. On several occasions, the vessels have taken part in operations for NATO, UN

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

, OSCE

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...

and coalition forces.