Naval Projects

- DD 21 Zumwalt Class Multi Mission Destroyers

The 32 ship US Navy DD 21 Zumwalt class multimission destroyers will enter service in about 2012. The destroyers will replace Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates (FFG 7) and Spruance class destroyers (DD 963). Unlike previous classes of destroyer, which were primarily to counter deep water threats, the DD 21's primary mission is in providing land attack support for ground forces. The ship is also to carry out traditional destroyer missions of anti-air, anti-surface and undersea warfare.The size of the ships will be determined by the concept design proposals and estimates indicate the ship will probably be in excess of 14,000 tons. The DD 21 designs feature active and passive stealth technologies for low visual, infrared, magnetic and both surface and waterborne acoustic signatures.

-NSSN Virginia Class

The Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics, Connecticut is the lead design authority for the US Navy's New Attack Submarine. The US Navy has awarded contracts for the first four vessels. General Dynamics Electric Boat is constructing the first of class, Virginia (SSN 774), to commission in 2006, and the third in 2008. Newport News Shipbuilding will construct the second, Texas SSN 775 (commission in 2007) and fourth (in 2009). The USN's total requirement is for 30 of the class.

- LPD 17

The Landing Platform Dock 17, San Antonio Class, is the latest class of amphibious force ship for the United States Navy. The mission of the LPD 17 ships is to transport marines, with helicopters and air-cushioned landing craft to trouble spots around the world. The first ship, the San Antonio (LPD 17), is currently under construction and is scheduled to be delivered in November 2002.

- T-AKR 310 Class

The Watson Class Strategic Sealift Ships are being built for the US Navy by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) of San Diego. The 950 feet RO-RO (roll-on – roll off) vessels are designed to transport US Army tanks, helicopters and other large items of military equipment to any location.

The mission of the Strategic Sealift Ships is the deployment of military cargoes to anywhere in the world. The ships carry the US Navy hull designations: T for Military Sealift Command and AKR for fast sealift ship, followed by the hull number. NASSCO are building seven vessels under contracts totalling $1.3 billion for the US Navy under the Strategic Sealift program.

-SSN Astute class

The Royal Navy's Astute class submarine is a nuclear powered attack submarine which is to replace the five Swiftsure class submarines launched between 1973 and 1977 and are approaching the end of their operational life. The initial order quantity is three with an option for an additional two. The performance specification of the Astute is an extension of the performance of the Trafalgar Class Batch 1 fleet of the Royal Navy's Second Submarine Squadron based at Devonport.

-CV (F)

Following a requirement stated in the Strategic Defence Review for a new larger class of aircraft carrier, as a replacement for the three existing INVINCIBLE class ships, the CVF was conceived. The new ships are expected to be among the largest warships ever built in the UK.Initial estimates are that the ships could be 300 metres long and displace about 40,000 tonnes capable of carrying up to 50 aircraft, resulting in a ship that would be twice as large as the current INVINCIBLE class. It is intended that 2 hulls of the new class will replace the 3 INVINCIBLE class hulls currently in service.

CVF will be the principal platform for the RN/RAF Future Joint Combat Aircraft (FJCA) which will replace RN and RAF Harriers. The Carrier Air Group will also include the Future Organic Airborne Early Warning (FOAEW) system, which will replace the capability currently provided by Sea King AEW helicopters. Following the announcement in January 2001 that the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) would fulfil the FJCA role, assessment work for the CVF programme is already focussed on the two JSF variants available; Short Take Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) and the Carrier Variant (CV) conventional take off and landing.

-LPD Albion Class

On 18th July 1996, Michael Portillo, Secretary of State for Defence, announced a £450 million order with Vicker's Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd, VSEL, now part of BAE Systems for two new amphibious warfare ships known as Landing Platform Docks (LPDs) for the Royal Navy.The Landing Platform Docks are to replace HMS Fearless and HMS Intrepid which were launched in 1963 and 1964. HMS Albion and Bulwark will be based at Plymouth and are expected to enter service in August 2000 and March 2003.

-CNGF (TYPE 45)

The Type 45 class will be the largest and most powerful air defence destroyers ever operated by the Royal Navy. Equipped with the world beating Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS), the prime role of the Type 45 destroyer will be Anti –Air Warfare: protecting UK national and allied/coalition forces against enemy aircraft and missiles. The Type 45 will also be a multi-role, general-purpose platform capable of operations across the spectrum of tasks.

At 7,350 tons and 151m in length, the Type 45 is considerably larger than the Type 42 it replaces, reflecting the need for greater versatility to meet the wider range of roles the new ships will be called on to perform. The main armament of the class will be the sophisticated and lethal Principal Anti Air Missile System (PAAMS), which is being developed and procured jointly with France and Italy. PAAMS will equip the Type 45 to defend itself and other ships in company from attack by existing and future anti-ship missiles of all types.PAAMS equipment carried by each ship will include a 48-cell Sylver Vertical Launching System (VLS) for Aster missiles. Also central to the PAAMS system is the highly capable SAMPSON Multi-Function Radar (MFR) for surveillance and fire control, the S1850 long-range Radar (LRR) for air/surface search, and the Command and Control system.

The mixture of shorter-range Aster 15 and longer-range Aster 30 missiles selected for the Type 45 are faster and more agile than the previous generation. 'Room for growth' was a key operational requirement. Thus while the complement is around 190 crew, there is space for up to 235.

- Wave Class Royal Fleet Auxiliary large fleet Tankers

The first of two new large fleet tanker ships for the United Kingdom Royal Fleet Auxiliary, the RFA Wave Knight (A389) was launched in September 2000. Wave Knight was built at BAE Systems Marine Ltd Barrow yard. The second, RFA Wave Ruler (A390), is under construction at BAE's Govan yard and is due to be launched in March 2001. They are due to enter service in 2002. The new 30,000 ton large fleet tankers will replace the Olna and Olwen, two 36,000 ton displacement fast fleet tankers, built at Swan Hunter and Hawthom Leslie in the1960's.

The ships will be crewed by 72 Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel and there is also provision for 26 Royal Navy personnel for helicopter and weapons systems operations.

- New Major Vessel (NUM) Aircraft Carrier

On the 22 November 2000, a contract was drawn up between Fincantieri and the Ministry of Naval Defence to supply an aircraft carrier vessel, better known as a "new major vessel", to the Italian Navy. The order is worth approximately Lira 1,750bn, of which 140bn has been set aside for the integrated logistic Support.

Building work on the new vessel which will be named the Andrea Doria, began at Fincantieri's shipyards in Riva Trigoso and Muggiano in July 2001 and the ship will be delivered in 2007.The ship will have a standard displacement of about 22,000t, an overall length of about 235m and a speed of no less than 29 knots; it will be able to accommodate up to 1,290 people on board comprising a maximum landing force of 450.

- Franco-Italian Horizon

The first plate for Forbin, a new frigate for the French Navy, was cut at DCN's Lorient shipyard on 8 April 2002. This marks the start of Horizon production and an important milestone for the Franco-Italian programme. The French and Italian governments signed a contract with prime contractor Horizon SAS for the development and construction of four new-generation AAW frigates, two for each Navy. Horizon frigates are front-line fighting ships designed primarily to provide anti-air defence for local area cover or extended cover against saturation missile attacks.

The most representative mission for the vessels and their powerful anti-submarine and anti-air self-defence systems will be the protection of carrier groups. With a displacement of 6,500 tons for an overall length of 150m and a maximum speed of 29kts, Horizon AAW frigates will offer remarkable combat capabilities and fire power. The combat systems, now being developed under a European cooperation effort, will feature the PAAMS anti-air missile system and the SLAT anti-torpedo system.

-U212/U214

The Type 212 submarine or U212 is a non-nuclear submarine capable of long distance submerged passage to the area of operation. The order for the German Navy for the first four of the submarines was placed in 1994 and the first ship will be commissioned in the year 2003. The Type 212 is being constructed by Howaldtswerke - Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW) of Kiel and Thyssen Nordseewerke GmbH (TNSW) of Enden.Two submarines of the same design as the U212 are being built by Fincantieri for the Italian Navy The first is expected to launch in 2002 and commission in 2005

-Sachsen Class

The Sachsen Class (F124) is Germany's Air Defence Frigate being built by ARGE F124, a consortium consisting of Blohm and Voss as the leading yard, Howaldtwerke-Deutsche Werft and Thyssen Nordseewerke. The frigates are being built under the Trilateral Frigate Agreement, signed by the Netherlands, Germany and Spain which provides cooperation in national construction of the frigates in each country. The ship’s medium and long range anti-air missiles are the Raytheon Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) and the Standard Missile SM2111-A which are fired from a VLS Mk41 thirty-two cell launcher.

The F124 has two Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM), Mk 31 launchers and two four-cell Harpoon missile launchers. The RAM missile from Raytheon and RAM Systems GmbH, is a fire and forget missile which provides short range defence against incoming anti-ship missiles including sea-skimming missiles The ship is fitted with two triple Mk 32 torpedo launchers and also has helicopter-borne long range lightweight torpedoes. The flight deck and hangar accommodate two NH90 helicopters.

- MEKO A Class corvettes and frigates

Meko A-100

Meko A-200

The MEKO A combat ships, designed by Blohm and Voss, are the next generation of corvettes evolved from the MEKO family of ships which have been in operation with navies around the world since the 1980s. The MEKO A family includes the 1,650t MEKO A-100 multi-purpose corvette and 3,500t MEKO A-200 corvette. Improvements include increased payload share of ship displacement, stealthy design, advanced propulsion system and combat systems with modular open architecture.

Four MEKO A-200 anti-air corvettes have been ordered by the South African Navy to enter service in 2004. Stealth design features have been introduced to reduce the radar cross-section. A reduction of about 75% on the ship's infrared signature has been achieved by elimination of the funnel, and instead hot exhaust gases are ducted through a horizontal system.

- F-100 multipurpose Frigate

The F100 is a 5,800 ton multipurpose frigate being built by the Spanish shipbuilder, Bazan. Four ships have been ordered by the Spanish Navy. The first, Alvaro de Bazan (F101), was launched in October 2000 and to commission in September 2002. Construction has started on the second, Roger de Lauria. All four are due to enter service by 2006.The ship incorporates the AN/SPY-1D Aegis Combat System from Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics and Surveillance Systems. The main missions of the ship are fleet protection, anti-air warfare, operation as a flag ship for a combat group, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare.

- De Zeven Provincien class Frigate

These ships are being build as part of a tri-partite building program between the Spanish Armada, the German Marine, and the Dutch Royal Navy. The other ships being developed in this program are the Spanish F-100, with SPY-1 and Aegis combat system, and the German F124, wich also has the APAR and SEWACO combat system. The first LCF, the 'De Zeven Provincien' was launched on saturday the 8th of April 2000, and is expected to be fully operational at the beginning of 2002. The keel for the 'Tromp' was laid on 3 september 1999, and this ship should be active in late 2003. The NLFs 'Tromp' and 'Evertsen' should be in active service in 2004 and 2005 respectively.

- Fridtjof Nansen (F85) class multirole frigates

Minister of Defense Elbjorg Lower said Bazan/Lockheed Martin will build five frigate- sized ships under the program. The first will be delivered to Norway in 2005. The value of the program is $1.4 billion. Approval by the Norwegian Parliament is required before a contract can be signed.

Lockheed Martin's integrated weapon system bid is based on the U.S. Navy's Aegis combat system, for which Lockheed Martin serves as prime contractor and engineering design agent. Other notable elements of the integrated weapon system solution include a frigate-size version of the SPY-1 radar, which is the heart of the Aegis system and the MK 41 Vertical Launching System, the below-deck missile launching system designed and developed by Lockheed Martin and deployed on U.S. Navy ships and those of allied nations.

- Visby Class Corvette

The Visby Class of stealth corvettes is being built for the Swedish Navy by the Swedish company Kockums (a subsidiary of HDW of Germany).The Visby (K31) was launched in June 2000 and began sea trials in December 2001. It is to enter operational service in January 2005. Five Visby class vessels are to be delivered to the Swedish Navy by 2007, which has an option on a sixth vessel.The first four Visby corvettes for the Swedish Navy are for Mine Countermeasures (MCM) and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW). The last will be primarily for the attack and anti-surface warfare role. A helicopter, such as the AgustaWestland A109M selected by Sweden, can land, take off, and refuel on the upper deck. Preparation has been made for the installation of a hangar on the ship.

- KDX-2 Class Destroyer

There are likely to be six KDX-2 ships, of which three are currently under construction, to add to the existing three KDX-1 (`Okpo') class. The Republic of Korea Navy has chosen the MK 31 Mod 1 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Guided Missile Weapon System for its new KDX-II destroyer program. RAM will provide the KDX II with the middle layer of its layered defense against anti-ship missiles.

United Defense, LP, has been awarded a Licensed Co-Production Contract by Kia Heavy Industries Corporation (KHI), Republic of Korea, for three Mk 45 Mod 4, 5-inch/62-Caliber Lightweight Gun Systems. These Mk 45 Mod 4 Lightweight Gun Systems will be installed on-board the first three Korean KDX-2 destroyers being built in the Republic of Korea.

Sources :

	Naval Technology
	BAE Systems
	Royal Navy Homepage
	Blohm and Voss

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