I don't know if there is room for all the equipment: But You miss an essential point with this new class: Flexibility without compromising the advantages of specialisation.
The standard flex complex is so basic and started with Flyvefisken-class.
1. Make a hull able to deal with the waters at hand. That in the Flyvefisken resulted in a very small hull of shallow draught. That meant that you could not get all functions (ASW, Minesweeping, Missiles) in one ship. By putting the equipment of one large ship into several little ships you solved the old problem of size/capability.
The weapons systems are build into containers that can be loaded and plugged in! The containers are plugcompatible with the displays on the bridge.
F.i. Ravnen may one day be a patroller with a 76 mm gun, the next day a minesweeper, the third an air defence vessel. It all depends on what containers you plug in and the ratings that follow the container.
2. The new patrolships (they are cute - they are frigates) takes the concept to a new level: It adjusts the hull to the waters! For the shallows in the Baltic it has a low draught - for the Atlantic it lies deeper and are more seaworthy. Thus you have both a large vessel for the Baltic, where you might have to off-load some equipment to a Flyvefisken, and you have a high endurance frigate to back up the Thetis class.
3. It brings a whole new concept of what a ships company is: The ships company is the ratings brought together for the occation! The army has for ages been used to the concept in the brigade versus regiment discussion. The strength of the brigade is that everybody are fully qualified, in the regiment the they all know each other - each is nescessary and gives command problems, which can be solved.
4. The concept of command is very high on the agenda. Danish naval officers get command at an early age. There are lots of small boats, where a young lieutenant can learn HOW to play god - as all skippers have to.
The Thetis-class give most of the sailors a lot of seatime.
5. It is an attempt to overcome the traditional split and waste of resources otherwise inherent in having a two-ocean fleet. The Russians have never overcome the problem f.i.: Ships for the Baltic Fleet has always been rather useless else where, The arctic fleet has been isolated as well, not to mention the seperation-problems of the Black Sea fleet and the Far East Fleet. The US had to dig a canal to handle the problem.
Those who critizise the Absalon for being a jack of all trades but master of none, simply doesn't get it. She can switch roles the very same day WITHOUT compromise.
Relevant questions are:
Frigates: How much ice-reinforcement to they have on the waterline. Admiral Pribka of the Estonian Navy is a very good choise for a large ship - being the ex-Beskytteren, she is icereinforced and can thus operate when others have to remain in port. The nose bulp of the frigates probably means she cannot have the full monty of icereinforcement. (Personally i suspect the bow thruster is need to bring back maneauvre when she is trimmed tail-heavy to reduce draught).
Command ships: That main deck for transporting tanks ..... Yes; but she is more than that: She is a large capacity minelayer - where? (I just checked: Oh my prophetic soul!) I heard some rumours that they wanted to rebuild the Falster-class for the command function years back. They apparently gave up the idea of making a purse out of sows ear and start from a clean sheet of paper.
