SAS Isandlwana (F146)

SAS "Isandlwana" (F146) is the second of four Valour class frigates for the South African Navy.
They were manufactured by the European South African Corvette Consortium (ESACC), consisting of the German Frigate Consortium (Blohm+Voss, Thyssen Rheinstahl and Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werf), African Defence Systems (part of the French Thales defense group) and a number of South African companies.

The ships were built to the MEKO modular design concept, and are designated by the manufacturer as the MEKO A-200SAN class. Some controversy exists as to the class type of the vessel, with both the manufacturer and the South African Navy referring to it as a corvette, but other similar vessels in other navies being referred to as frigates. It has been claimed by some that the use of the word corvette was a political decision made by the South African government to ease criticism of the procurement of the vessels.

As with all the other ships of the Valour class, the "Isandlwana" is named after a famous South African battle or instance of great valour. In this case the famous Battle of Isandlwana between the Zulu nation and Britain, at the beginning of the Anglo-Zulu War.

The SAS "Isandlwana" was built at the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft shipyards in Kiel, Germany, and arrived in South Africa on 25 February 2004. It is currently nearing the final stages of weapons and systems installation and integration.

The commanding officer of the "Isandlwana" is Captain Bubele Mhlana. He took over control of the ship from former Captain Carl Wiesner.

SAS Isandlwana that last year took part in the Atlasur Exercise in cooperation with the fleets of Brazil and Chile. [ [http://www.news24.com/Regional_Papers/Components/Category_Article_Text_Template/0,2430,433-441-444_2076963~E,00.html First black commander for frigate] ]

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