Second Finnish navy corvette launched, commander highlights drone defense

The second of four multi-purpose corvettes being built for the Finnish navy was launched on Thursday at the Rauma Marine Constructions shipyard in Rauma, Finland, according to Finnish public broadcaster Yle. The first corvette in the series was launched exactly one year ago, and all four vessels are scheduled to be completed by 2029.

Rear Admiral Tuomas Tiilikainen, commander of the Finnish navy, said the new corvettes are well suited to countering drone threats. “The corvettes have excellent detection capabilities against underwater, surface, and airborne drones. The very first and most demanding task is to detect those drones,” Tiilikainen told Yle. He added that once detected, defensive measures can be initiated.

Tiilikainen also suggested the corvettes could have provided earlier warning of drones that fell in southeastern Finland earlier this year. “Perhaps the corvettes’ detection capability has developed so that they could have detected drones from farther away and provided advance warnings of approaching drones,” he said. The comments came after authorities in mid-May advised people in the Uusimaa region to move indoors due to a drone threat. The Finnish Defence Forces said the threat stemmed from a risk that drones carrying heavy explosive payloads could drift into Finland.

Tiilikainen assessed that the navy, as part of the overall defence system, is already capable of detecting drones in the southeastern region, but the new vessels would enhance early warning and response.