The Spanish Navy and Navantia are working on an enhanced air defence variant of its F110 frigate design, the firm has revealed.
The news coincided with Tuesday’s launch of the second warship in the F110 class, the Roger de Lauria, at Navantia’s Ferrol shipyard in A Coruña.
The frigate hit the water four months ahead of schedule at a special ceremony attended by Spain’s Defence Secretary María Amparo Valcarce, Spanish Navy Chief Admiral Antonio Piñeiro, and a host of VIPs from government and industry.
Work on the Bonifaz-class warship, the second frigate in a five-ship, €4.3 billion programme, will continue alongside the shipyard quay until its delivery, currently scheduled for 2029.
The first-in-class is expected to be commissioned in 2028; ships three four and five — Menéndez de Avilés, Luis de Córdova and Barceló — should be delivered in 2030, 2031 and 2032, respectively.
The 145m guided missile and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) ships will combine Lockheed Martin’s AEGIS system and AN/SPY-7 radar with Navantia’s SCOMBA Combat Management System. They will be capable of 35 knots and will embark a medium helicopter, either SH-60 Seahawks or NH-90s.
As well as this five-ship series, Navantia has announced it is also working with the Armada on an evolution of the current F110, with enhanced air and missile defence capabilities.
The current F110 design features a 16-cell Vertical Launch System (VLS); the new design will have an expanded vertical launch capability, integrating different types of missiles as per mission requirements.
The new F110 IAMD (Integrated Air and Missile Defence) variant will also boast a range of anti-submarine, anti-surface, electronic warfare and asymmetric threat capabilities, along with multi-mission space for modules, a second helicopter and uncrewed vehicles.
As per a company press statement, the future F110 IAMD “will substantially increase its air and missile defence capabilities, while maintaining the versatility, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capabilities, and digital architecture that characterize the new generation of frigates.”
Claiming the new design would extend the original F110 warship’s speed and range, it added: “The objective is to have a platform capable of responding in a coordinated and simultaneous manner to a wide range of air, ballistic missile, and cruise missile threats, as well as assuming area defence roles, escorting high-value units, and coordinating air defence within a naval group.”
- You can read more details on the Navantia website
