The five minesweeper

Minesweeper (ship)

A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...

s of the German Navy

German Navy

The German Navy is the navy of Germany and is part of the unified Bundeswehr .The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the revolutionary era of 1848 – 52 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy...

's Type 352 Ensdorf class are former Type 343 Hameln class minesweepers that have been upgraded with the TROIKA PLUS system.

The Ensdorf class have three modes to clear mine fields:

• TROIKA PLUS: This system employs up to four remote controlled Seehund ("Seal") drone
  Remotely operated vehicle
  A remotely operated vehicle is a tethered underwater vehicle. They are common in deepwater industries such as offshore hydrocarbon extraction. An ROV may sometimes be called a remotely operated underwater vehicle to distinguish it from remote control vehicles operating on land or in the air. ROVs...
  
  s which perform the sweep. The drones are small unmanned boats that can simulate the acoustic and magnetic signatures of bigger ships to trigger mines. Their small size and special construction let them survive the effects of exploding mines unharmed.
• Mine hunting: Mines detected with the hull-mounted sonar
  Sonar
  Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
  
   can be identified and exploded with expendable Seefuchs (SeaFox) ROV
  Remotely operated vehicle
  A remotely operated vehicle is a tethered underwater vehicle. They are common in deepwater industries such as offshore hydrocarbon extraction. An ROV may sometimes be called a remotely operated underwater vehicle to distinguish it from remote control vehicles operating on land or in the air. ROVs...
  
  s.
• Classical minesweeping: Against moored mines the classical minesweeping using towed wire cutters to cut the anchors of mines can be conducted.

The Ensdorf class replaced the Type 351 Lindau class minesweeper

Lindau class minesweeper

Type 320 Lindau-class minesweepers was a class of German coastal mine warfare vessels built as part of the first FRG naval program. The ships were made from non-metallic components and built by Burmester Bremen. None of these ships now remain in service with the German Navy. Several went into...

s in service with the German Navy

German Navy

The German Navy is the navy of Germany and is part of the unified Bundeswehr .The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the revolutionary era of 1848 – 52 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy...

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Seehund ROV

• Length: 25 m
• Displacement: 99 t
• Propulsion: Schottel Z-drive
  Z-drive
  A Z-drive is a type of marine propulsion unit. Specifically, it is an azimuth thruster. The pod can rotate 360 degrees allowing for rapid changes in thrust direction and thus vessel direction...
  
  
• Max speed: 9-10 kn

Seehund can be controlled remotely or manually by an onboard crew (usually 3) for maneuvering in harbours or in training (the Seehund is too large to be carried by Ensdorf class vessels). A life raft is carried for this reason.

Ship list

Pennant number Pennant number In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...	Name	Call sign Call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...	commissioned
M1094	Ensdorf	DRFN	October 16, 1990
M1093	Auerbach/Oberpfalz	DRFR	May 7, 1991
M1092	Hameln	DRFO	June 29, 1989
M1090	Pegnitz	DRFT	March 8, 1990
M1098	Siegburg	DRFL	July 26, 1990

Notes: The ships were not decommissioned for their rebuilding to Type 352, so the listed dates are the ones of their commission as Type 343. Auerbach/Oberpfalz is one single name.

The ships currently belong to the 5. Minensuchgeschwader (5th Mine Sweeping Squadron) based in Kiel

Kiel

Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...

 at the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

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ROVs

Number	Commissioned	Mothership
1	May 5, 1981	M1092 Hameln
2	May 5, 1981	M1092 Hameln
3	May 5, 1981	M1092 Hameln
4	March 4, 1982	M1093 Auerbach/Oberpfalz
5	March 4, 1982	M1093 Auerbach/Oberpfalz
6	March 4, 1982	M1093 Auerbach/Oberpfalz
7	September 17, 1981	M1098 Siegburg
8	September 17, 1981	M1098 Siegburg
9	September 17, 1981	M1098 Siegburg
10	November 11, 1981	M1098 Siegburg
11	November 11, 1981	M1092 Hameln
12	November 11, 1981	M1090 Pegnitz
13	May 24, 1982	M1090 Pegnitz
14	May 24, 1982	M1090 Pegnitz
15	May 24, 1982	M1090 Pegnitz
16	November 7, 1983	M1094 Ensdorf
17	November 7, 1983	M1094 Ensdorf
18	November 7, 1983	M1094 Ensdorf

The Seehunde were taken over from the six decommissioned Type 351 class, which means that they are older than their motherships.