TSAMTO, October 1. The head of the Spanish shipbuilding company Navantia, Ricardo Dominguez, said that the Ria de Ferrol enterprise will begin construction of the first sections of the F-110 frigate intended for the Spanish Navy in March 2022.
As reported by Infodefensa.com R. dOminguez made this statement at the opening of the Center for Advanced Technologies of the Naval Sector (CESENA) at the Center for Innovation and Services in Technology and Design.
According to him, the start of construction will also serve as a "lever for the digital transformation" of Navantia shipyards. In May, Navantia, the Navy and the Spanish Ministry of Defense completed the protection of the draft design (PDR) of the frigate. The protection of the working project is planned for 2022.
As reported by TSAMTO, the new frigates should replace the Santa Maria-class frigates in service with the Spanish Navy. They will be multi-purpose ships designed to participate in high-intensity armed conflicts. The F-110 is designed for anti-submarine, anti-ship warfare and air defense. In peacetime, frigates are also supposed to be used to provide humanitarian assistance and ensure safety at sea.
The length of the F-110 class frigate will be 145 m, width - 18 m, displacement - 6100 tons, speed - up to 35 knots. It will be armed with a 76-mm artillery mount, a hArpoon missile launcher, torpedo tubes, two 30-mm cannons, a 16-container VPU and an ESSM (Evolved Sea Sparrow) air defense system.
On March 29, 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers of Spain approved the final permit for the construction by Navantia of five F-110 class frigates, the estimated cost of which is 4.317 billion. euro. On April 23, 2019, the Spanish Ministry of Defense signed a contract with Navantia for the construction of ships. Delivery of the first frigate is scheduled for 2026, and the last one for 2031.
In November 2019, the Spanish government authorized the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism to sign an agreement with Navantia to launch a program for the construction of F-110 class frigates for the country's Navy. Financing of the works will be carried out at the expense of a loan with a zero interest rate without guarantee requirements in the amount of 1.638 billion. euro issued for a period of 7 years (from 2019 to 2025).
It is expected that the implementation of the project for the construction of F-110 class frigates will allow the digitalization of Navantia shipyards using the Shipyard 4.0 program and will ensure Spain's technological leadership in this segment.