A new guided missile frigate design aimed squarely at the North American market has just been unveiled by German defence prime Rheinmetall.
The firm’s 140-metre, 6,000+ tonne GMF 140 warship features a 64-cell vertical launch system (VLS) for a missile mix capable of air defence and land attack.
It can accommodate either the AEGIS Combat Management System (CMS) used by many U.S. Navy destroyers, or other CMS such as Lockheed Martin’s CMS330
The firm noted: “The GMF 140 combines advanced air and ballistic missile defence, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and long-range strike capabilities within a highly survivable, digitally integrated and minimum manned platform.
“The design is optimised for blue-water operations while retaining the flexibility to support expeditionary, littoral and coalition missions.
“The GMF 140 is designed to integrate US sourced primary radar options to provide exceptional detection, tracking and engagement performance against conventional air threats, hypersonic weapons and ballistic missiles.”
It added: “Designed from the keel up as a true multi-domain combatant, the GMF 140 incorporates advanced anti-submarine warfare capabilities, a low-signature hull, integrated acoustic management, hull mounted and towed sonar systems advanced sonar systems and support for embarked maritime U.S. or European helicopters and unmanned systems.”
Rheinmetall said that although the GMF 140 frigate had been primarily designed as an offer for a procurement campaign in North America, it would also potentially be made available for export to “other allied Navies seeking a highly interoperable, future-ready naval combatant.”
- You can read more details on the Rheinmetall website
