an endurance of 45 days. The Berlin-class ships have a helipad aft and a hangar and can support two helicopters, either the Sea King or NH90 models which can be used for vertical replenishment. The vessels are equipped with radar and mine avoidance sonar and one of the radars is situated aft for use during helicopter takeoff and landing. The Berlin class are armed with four MLG autocannon for anti-aircraft defence and four machine guns. The MLG 27 replaced older Bofors /70 guns. The vessels are also fitted for but not with Stinger surface-to-air missile (MANPADS) for point defence. The vessels have a complement of 159 plus 74 embarked. List of ships Construction and career In 1994, the German Navy sought to construct four replenishment vessels, built in two batches. The ships were designed to support United Nations operations overseas. However, the project was trimmed to one and the design was finalised in mid-1996. The first hull was ordered in October 1996. A second hull was authorized in June 1998. The hulls of the ships were built by Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft at their shipyard in Flensburg, Germany, with the electronic systems installed by Lürssen and the superstructure, final outfitting and sea trials done by Krögerwerft. The first ship, Berlin, completed construction in 2001 and was commissioned into the German Navy on 11 April 2001. The second vessel, Frankfurt am Main followed in 2002 and was commissioned on 27 May 2002. The third ship, Bonn, was ordered on 3 December 2008 with increased power and accommodations and was built at Pennewerft in Wolgast. On 13 September 2013, Bonn was commissioned into service at Wilhelmshaven. In 2007, Frankfurt am Main performed trials with Finnish . In 2020, Berlin operated with Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2). Export Royal Canadian Navy Two ships will be procured to replace the two Protecteur-class vessels operated by the RCN until 2014 under the Joint Support Ship Project. The ships will be built by Seaspan Marine Corporation at the Vancouver Shipyards facility located in North Vancouver, British Columbia. The design was chosen over a design by BMT Technology. At the time, the option for a third was still possible. Canadian sailors previewed Bonn in order to make themselves familiar with the design. The ships were originally to be named Queenston and Chateauguay, for battles from the War of 1812. This decision was reversed in September 2017, when