Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate

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The Álvaro de Bazán class, also known as the F100 class, is a class of Aegis combat system-equipped air defence frigates in service with the Spanish Navy. The vessels were built by Spanish shipbuilder Navantia in Ferrol, with the lead ship of the class named for Admiral Álvaro de Bazán.

Design

The ships are fitted with the United States Aegis weapons system allowing them to track hundreds of airborne targets simultaneously as part of its air defence network. The Álvaro de Bazán-class multi-role frigates are one of the few non-US warships to carry the Aegis system and its associated SPY-1D radar. The American , Japanese , South Korean , Australian , and the Norwegian also use the Aegis system.

When the F-100 was designed, the United States communicated that it was impossible to implement the Aegis system in ships of less than , for this reason, after the construction and tests, the United States Navy congratulated and recognized the capacity of the Spanish ships, in addition to the fact that the radars are higher on the Spanish ships and therefore receive information earlier than U.S. or Japanese ships.

The Álvaro de Bazán-class frigates are the first modern vessels of the Spanish Navy to incorporate ballistic resistant steel in the hull, along with the power plants being mounted on anti-vibration mounts to reduce noise and make them less detectable by submarines. The original contract for four ships was worth €1.683 billion but they ended up costing €1.81 billion. As of 2010 it was estimated that the final vessel, F-105 would cost €834m (~US$1.1bn).

Ships in class

File:US Navy 110609-N-VQ827-457 The Spanish navy frigate ESPS Almirante Juan De Borbon (F 102) is underway with the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bus.jpg

Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate Almirante Juan de Borbón underway with the aircraft carrier

File:Armada Española F105 Cristóbal Colón.jpg

Cristóbal Colón in 2013

Six ships were originally planned, including Roger de Lauria (F105) and Juan de Austria (F106). These were cancelled but a fifth ship was later added as Cristóbal Colón (F105) (It has some improvements compared to the rest of the frigates of its class).

Pennant number	Name	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Status
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F101			October 2000	September 2002	Active
F102		October 2001	28 February 2002	3 December 2003	Active
F103			16 May 2003	16 December 2004	Active
F104		16 May 2003	12 November 2004	21 March 2006	Active
F105	Roger de Lauria renamed	29 June 2007	4 November 2010	23 October 2012	Active
F106	Juan de Austria	Cancelled
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DDG 39		6 September 2012	23 May 2015	23 September 2017	Active
DDG 41		3 February 2014	15 December 2016	27 October 2018	Active
DDG 42		19 November 2015	19 May 2018	18 May 2020	Active

Export

The class is the basis of the Australian Hobart-class destroyers, also known as the Air Warfare Destroyer. The Australian government announced in June 2007 that, in partnership with Navantia, three F100 vessels were built for the Royal Australian Navy with the first due for delivery in 2014. However, this was delayed until 2017 when lead ship was commissioned. All three ships were in service by 2020.

The Fridtjof Nansen-class frigate of the Royal Norwegian Navy is based on the Álvaro de Bazán design. Five of these vessels were ordered in 2000. The Norwegian frigates were built by Navantia between 2003 and 2009. Four frigates are still in service.

See also

• List of naval ship classes in service
• List of active Spanish Navy ships

Further reading

• Spanish Ship Joins TR Strike Group
• Spain: Frigate not involved in combat
• Navy unveils $11b warship contract, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, accessed 20 June 2007.

External links

• Armada Española
• Spanish Navy page on Andrew Toppan's Haze Gray and Underway
• See Armada Española Photos