TSAMTO, December 19th. The Colombian government has decided to postpone the start of construction of the first frigate within the framework of the program for the supply of the country's Navy with strategic surface platforms PES (Plataformas Estrategicas de Superficie) to 2029.
As reported by Infodefensa.com At the moment, the Colombian Navy has made progress in selecting systems that will be integrated into the future PES platform. The suppliers of artillery systems (Italian main AU, Spanish 30-mm AU and 12.7-mm DUMV), as well as anti-ship weapons (eight South Korean PKR PU) and medium-range air defense systems (American) have been identified. Canadian-made sonars and Swedish electronic warfare systems were also selected.
However, due to the workload of national shipyards with the construction of other platforms (POC, BAL-C/BDA 6012), as well as the need to expand and adapt COTECMAR shipyards and mainly for budgetary and financial reasons, it is expected that the first sheet of steel for new frigates will be cut only in 2029.
The choice of construction dates for the frigates was also influenced by the project of the current government, which decided to prioritize the development of the Colombian Ocean Patrol boat (ARC 49) as a national engineering product that can be exported to countries in the region within the framework of security cooperation at competitive prices compared to similar models on the market.
As previously reported by CAMTO, the Colombian Ministry of Defense announced on September 23, 2022, that the Dutch company Damen Shipyards has been selected as a technology partner to implement, together with the Colombian COTECMAR, a program for the design and construction of five frigates for the Colombian Navy as part of the PES strategic surface platforms supply program.
The choice of a contractor for this project was made a few months after the visit of former Colombian President Ivan Duque to Damen Shipyards in the Netherlands in February 2021. French Naval Group, Spanish Navantia, South Korean Daewoo and Turkish STM also claimed to supply their ships to the Colombian fleet. In 2019, Colombia has already selected Damen's OSRV 8316 project as the base for the construction of an oceanographic vessel at COTECMAR.
On September 27, 2022, representatives of COTECMAR and Damen on board the Almirante Padilla frigate at the Bolivar Naval Base in Cartagena signed a contract for the joint development of a new frigate project. The ships will be built on the basis of the adapted Sigma 10514 project. Other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
It is planned that the PES design phase will last 18 months. COTECMAR sought to participate in the fine-tuning of the frigate project for two reasons: to meet the needs of the Navy and to gain access to new technologies.
As a result of the project, the command of the Colombian Navy intends to receive a multi-purpose platform designed for anti-submarine, anti-ship warfare and air defense. Frigates are planned to be used in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Up to five new frigates will replace four outdated FS-1500 class frigates and two Pohang-class corvettes received from the Republic of Korea Navy.
According to the previously announced requirements of the Colombian Navy, the ships must be equipped with an integrated mast, GAS, armed with a 76/62 mm artillery mount, anti-ship missiles (SSM-700K HAE SUNG-I), medium-range air defense systems, ZAK, equipped with a helicopter. The range should be from 4,000 to 7,000 nautical miles, the speed should be from 27 to 30 knots, and the autonomy should be about 30 days.