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. it was estimated that the final vessel, F-105 would cost €834m (~US$1.1bn).
Ships in class
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 numberNameLaid downLaunchedCommissionedStatus 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 AustriaCancelledDDG 396 September 201223 May 201523 September 2017ActiveDDG 413 February 201415 December 201627 October 2018ActiveDDG 4219 November 201519 May 201818 May 2020Active
Export Australia
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.
Norway
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 frigate classes in service List of active Spanish Navy ships
Equivalent frigates of the same era
FREMM
Type 054A Project 22350
References
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