Pohjanmaa-class corvette

General characteristics The overall length of the Pohjanmaa-class corvettes is and the beam . The maximum draught of the vessels is , corresponding to a displacement of about . Each ship will have a complement of about 70 officers and crew. For high-speed operations, a single General Electric LM2500 gas turbine driving both propeller shafts via a common gearbox provides a maximum speed in excess of . For low-speed manoeuvring, the ships are fitted with two bow thrusters. The sensor suite includes Sea Giraffe 4A FF fixed-face active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and Sea Giraffe 1X short-range 3D radar mounted on Saab's Lightweight Integrated Mast (SLIM), as well as two CEROS 200 fire-control directors and a laser warning system. The underwater sensor suite consists of Kongsberg's SS2030 hull-mounted sonar and SD9500 lightweight dipping sonar. In addition, the ships are equipped with Patria's Sonac DTS dual-towed sonar system, which combines an active variable-depth sonar and a passive towed array for anti-submarine warfare. Armament Pohjanmaa-class corvettes are equipped with a dual-purpose naval gun, surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles, anti-submarine torpedoes, naval mines, close-in weapon systems, and decoy launchers. The primary surface-to-surface armament is the Gabriel 5 anti-ship missile, designated PTO 2020 (Pintatorjuntaohjus 2020) in Finnish service. Each vessel is capable of carrying up to 32 missiles, quad-packed in eight Mark 41 Vertical Launching System cells. In Finnish Navy service, the system is designated ITO 20 (Ilmatorjuntaohjus 20). For anti-submarine warfare, the corvettes are equipped with Saab Torped 47 lightweight torpedoes. The ships also retain a minelaying capability, reflecting the Finnish Navy's traditional emphasis on naval mine warfare. == Development and construction ==

Development of the new surface combatants for the Finnish Navy began with research and planning in 2008, and the Squadron 2020 project was officially launched in 2015. The €647.6 million shipbuilding contract was awarded to Finnish shipbuilder Rauma Marine Constructions in September 2019. During the detailed design phase, the shipyard announced in November 2021 that additional time would be required to complete the design work. , the delay was estimated to be 14 to 18 months. • Construction of the lead ship began on 30 October 2023, and the keel was laid on 11 April 2024. The hull was completed in February 2025. The ship was ceremonially launched on 21 May 2025. • Construction of the second ship began on 9 October 2024, and the keel was laid on 8 May 2025. • Construction of the third ship began on 26 August 2025, and the keel was laid on 14 January 2026. • Construction of the fourth and final ship also began on 14 January 2026. == Naming ==

Naming major combat vessels after regions of Finland has long been a tradition of the Finnish Navy. The name Pohjanmaa, the Finnish name for the historical province of Ostrobothnia, has been used for several ships and ship classes in both the Finnish and Swedish navies. The earliest known vessel bearing the name was Gamla Pojama ("Old Pohjanmaa"), launched in 1760. The most recent was the minelayer and training ship , which remained in service until it was sold in 2016. The original 18th-century Pohjanmaa type was one of the four principal archipelago frigate types of the Swedish archipelago fleet, alongside the Hämeenmaa, Uusimaa, and Turunmaa classes. These vessels played an important role in the Battle of Svensksund in 1790, one of Sweden's greatest naval victories and the largest naval battle ever fought in the Baltic Sea. == Criticism ==

Classification While the Finnish Navy have argued that, based on their displacement of about , the ships more closely correspond to frigates. Following the award of the construction contract in September 2019, Member of Parliament Johannes Yrttiaho (Left Alliance) submitted a written question to the Parliament of Finland concerning, among other issues, the classification of the vessels. In an official Finnish Defence Forces blog, Flotilla admiral Jori Harju, Commander of the Finnish Navy, explained that the increased displacement was partly due to structural strengthening of the hull, propulsion shaft lines, and propellers required for year-round operation in ice-prone Finnish waters. He also noted that the Pohjanmaa class is intended primarily for operations in coastal and littoral areas, whereas frigates are traditionally associated with sustained operations on the high seas as part of a blue-water navy. Size Since the early 2000s, the Finnish Navy's surface combatant fleet has consisted primarily of fast attack craft with displacements of about . Until the introduction of the Pohjanmaa class, the largest surface combatants in Finnish service have been the two s. Several commentators have criticised the Squadron 2020 programme because of the relatively large size of the new corvettes. Critics have argued that the vessels are too large for Finland's shallow and confined coastal waters and could present more prominent targets for Russian anti-ship missiles. It has also been suggested that the ship size reflects requirements for international operations rather than purely national defence, and that the concept may have been influenced by the United States Navy's s. The Finnish Navy has stated that the increased size results from the requirement to combine several roles within a single platform. In particular, the ability to lay naval mines—one of the Navy’s core missions—requires significant payload capacity and internal volume, which in turn necessitates a larger hull. The Navy has further emphasised that, despite superficial similarities to foreign vessel classes, the Pohjanmaa class has been specifically designed for Finnish operational requirements in the Baltic Sea and does not directly derive from any existing ship class. == Ships in class ==