Nations swap ideas on keeping frigates fresh
By Christopher P. Cavas - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 10, 2009 15:55:10 EDT
The venerable Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate has been in Navy service for more than 30 years, but many of the 63 remaining ships could be around decades more. An international gathering this spring will consider ways to keep the ships running and even give them a bit more punch.
“What I’m looking for is the ability to have each country understand what activities and products each other country brings to the table,” Rear Adm. James McManamon, deputy commander for surface warfare at Naval Sea Systems Command, said during a recent interview. “These ships are going to be around for a while.”
The Perry-class guided-missile frigates — also known as the FFG 7 class — fly the flags of countries around the globe, from Australia and Taiwan in the Pacific to Bahrain, Egypt and Turkey in the Middle East and Poland and Spain in Europe. Fifty-one were built for the U.S. and entered service from 1977 to 1989. Of those ships, 30 remain in U.S. service and most of the rest were transferred to allies. All the nations are interested in keeping the warships viable.
The frigates were designed at the height of the Cold War as convoy and amphibious group escorts. Considered inexpensive, they had a single-arm launcher for 40 SM-1 standard surface-to-air missiles, but their biggest punch resided in a double helicopter hangar and a flight deck intended to carry anti-submarine helicopters.
Although they displace more than 4,000 tons, the frigates have been criticized as cramped and tough to modernize. But they remain practical assets.
“What has changed is an increasing awareness of the utility of the FFG in the littorals and the increased ability of our aviation assets,” McManamon said. “When you put an armed helicopter on an armed ship with a shallow draft that is fuel-efficient, that is valuable. In the littorals, the ships become a lot more viable.”
NavSea and the Frigate Class Squadron support group in Mayport, Fla., wanted a forum to bring together all current users of FFGs to share ideas on keeping the ships efficient and effective. The meeting begins May 12 at Mayport. It’s the first such international effort for a particular class of ship, McManamon said.
“There are things the Australians are doing that we’ve been looking at but don’t deal with on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “And the Egyptians have been doing things with hull repair we may want to look at to extend the lives of these ships.”
The Australian navy recently carried out a modernization program for the four FFGs being kept in service after the oldest two were retired. The program suffered from significant cost overruns and schedule delays, but the lessons learned are of great interest to other FFG operators,
McManamon said. The Australians and Taiwanese also are looking at replacing the missile launcher with eight vertical-launch cells.
Initial goals for the May meeting are to establish operator lines of communications and identify communitywide interests and issues. Another meeting, perhaps a year later, will continue that work and present more ideas for keeping the ships up to date. Industry might be invited to participate, McManamon said.
The location — a home port for 12 frigates — should be a great asset as well, McManamon said.
“We’re taking advantage of the expertise and emphasis on FFGs in Mayport,” he said. “We’re hoping to use that as a good thing.”
Where they are
Eight nations operate frigates of the Oliver Hazard Perry class.
• Australia, four frigates.
• Bahrain, one frigate.
• Egypt, four frigates.
• Poland, two frigates.
• Spain, six frigates.
• Taiwan, eight frigates.
• Turkey, eight frigates.
• U.S., 30 frigates.
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/03/navy_frigates_030209w/
Is removing the MK-13's realy an option for the R.A.N ?
