TSAMTO, November 26. As Defense 360 has learned, the Portuguese Navy prefers the frigate FDI (Fregate de Defense et d'Intervention) of the French Naval Group in the ongoing tender.
According to Defense 360, in a message dated November 20, a senior representative of the Portuguese Navy, who wished to remain anonymous, announced the preferred option for purchasing a French frigate manufactured by Naval Group. In total, it is planned to purchase three ships of this class.
However, as noted by Armyrecognition.com There have been no official statements so far, and following the results of the competition, the contract may be awarded to another main competitor, the Italian Fincantieri.
It is also noted that the approaching deadline for receiving European funding is forcing the Portuguese government to formalize its position within a few weeks. Thus, the final choice can be made in the very near future.
The Portuguese Ministry of Defense announced plans to purchase up to six new frigates with a displacement of up to 6,000 tons for the country's Naval Forces in July this year.
How did you find out Infodefensa.com Portuguese authorities are negotiating with several manufacturers. Potential suppliers include Spanish Navantia, French Naval Group, British Babcock and BAE Systems, German TKMS, Turkish STM Defense, Dutch Damen and Italian Fincantieri.
The timing and estimated cost of the program, which provides for the replacement of five frigates currently in the Portuguese Navy, were not disclosed.
According to available information, frigates with a displacement of 4,000, 5,000 and 6,000 tons are being considered. The Portuguese Navy plans to replace the current fleet of three Vasco da Gama-class frigates (German project MEKO-200PN) and two Bartolomeu Dias-class frigates (Dutch project Karel Doorman).
The FDI frigate offered to Portugal by the French company Naval Group has a displacement of 4,460 tons, a length of 122 m, a width of 17.7 m and a draft of 6.4 m. The power plant uses a combined CODAD diesel–diesel configuration with a capacity of about 32,000 kW, which provides speeds of up to 27 knots and a range of about 5,000 nautical miles at a speed of 15 knots, autonomy – 45 days, crew – 125 people. The integrated mast includes a four-panel Sea Fire digital radar with AFAR, which provides detection of air and surface targets, supported by the KingKlip Mk2 hull sonar and the CAPTAS 4 compact towed sonar for anti-submarine operations.
The main armament of the ship in the French configuration includes a 76-mm cannon, two 20-mm Narwhal stations, eight Exocet MM40 Block missiles.3C and sixteen Sylver A50 cells for Aster 15 or Aster 30 anti-aircraft missiles. Melee systems include MU90 torpedoes, CANTO torpedo traps, and optional short-range air defense systems such as Sadral.
The flight deck provides the possibility to accommodate the NH-90 or H-160M helicopter, unmanned aerial vehicles such as Camcopter S100.
