SAS Isandlwana
SAS Isandlwana is the second of four s for the South African Navy built by the European South African Corvette Consortium. SAS Isandlwana was named after the Battle of Isandlwana at a ceremony held in Kiel in December 2002, by Deputy Defence Minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge.
Construction
SAS Isandlwana was manufactured by the European South African Corvette Consortium, consisting of the German Frigate Consortium, African Defence Systems 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 her as a "corvette," but other similar vessels in other navies being referred to as frigates. Some have claimed 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.
SAS Isandlwana was built at the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft shipyards in Kiel, Germany, and she arrived in South Africa on 25 February 2004.
In 2007, SAS Isandlwana took part in the Atlasur Exercise in cooperation with the fleets of Brazil and Chile.