Miecznik: Spain Offers Poland F-100

On August 6, Spanish shipbuilding company Navantia revealed that it offered F-100 as a bid for the Polish Miecznik (“Swordfish”) coast defense ship program. It was a surprise, as the commentators expected Navantia to offer F-110 frigates, which are still in the planning phase.

Spanish shipbuilding company Navantia revealed that they are offering their F-100 missile frigate for the Polish Miecznik coast defense ship program. / Phot: US Navy

Navantia is one of the three potential contractors, whose concepts will be refined by the end of November this year, along with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) offering MEKO A-300 PL (Mehrzweck-Kombination) and British Bacock (Arrowhead 140). At the turn of 2021-22 the best concept will be selected with the specific project development following.

Javier Herrador, commercial business and development director of Navantia said:

Navantia is ready for active presence in Poland to support construction and servicing the ships. We are proud to offer the Polish Navy a partnership model which will be mutually beneficial and will help our friend and ally Poland maintain marine defense capabilities based on modern technology, advanced and tested by the Spanish Navy and our export customers.

In practice, it means that the F-100 project will be the basis for development of three Miecznik missile frigates for the Polish Navy. Five (out of six planned) ships are serving Spanish Navy (Armada Española) as a Álvaro de Bazán class (Álvaro de Bazán, Almirante Juan de Borbón, Blas de Lezo, Méndez Núñez, and Cristóbal Colón) and entered the service between 2002 and 2012.

Three slightly bigger Australian air warfare destroyers (AWD) of the Hobart class (Hobart, Brisbane, and Sydney) based on the same design entered service in the years 2017-2020. The project was modified to integrate the American Aegis combat system in its Baseline 7.1 version.

F-100 was also the basis for five slightly smaller Norwegian frigates of the Fridtjof Nansen class (Fridtjof Nansen, Roald Amundsen, Otto Sverdrup, Helge Ingstad, and Thor Heyerdahl), introduced in 2006-2011. One of the frigates, Helge Ingstad was rammed by Maltese tanker Sola TS and sunk near Sture oil terminal in Øygarden. After it was recovered and towed away, the damage assessment deemed the repairs too costly and Helge Ingstad was scrapped.

In their basic, Spanish configuration, F-100 are 146.7 meters long, 18.6 meters wide, with 4.75 meter draft, standard displacement of 5900 tons, and maximum displacement of 6594 tons. It is propelled by two General Electric LM2500 gas turbines with a total power of 46 650 hp (34 790 kW), and two Caterpillar 3600 diesel engines with total power of 12 000 hp (8900 kW). It grants speed of up to 28 knots and range of 4500 naval miles at an optimal speed of 18 knots. The crew is composed of 201 officers and sailors.

The ships are equipped with 48-cell vertical launching system Mk 41 VLS with 32 anti-air SM-2MR Block IIIA or 64 RIM-162 ESSM missiles, eight launchers of anti-ship RGM-84 Harpoon missiles, 127-mm naval gun Mk45 Mod 2, and two 325-mm Mk 32 Mod 9 torpedo tubes with 12 Mk 46 Mod 5 light torpedoes.

W wersji bazowej (hiszpańskiej), F-100 charakteryzują się długością 146,7 metra, szerokością 18,6 metra, zanurzeniem 4,75 metra, wypornością standardową 5900 ton i pełną 6594 ton. Napęd stanowią dwie turbiny gazowe General Electric LM2500 o łącznej mocy 46 650 KM (34 790 kW) i dwa silniki wysokoprężne Caterpillar 3600 o łącznej mocy 12 000 KM (8900 kW). Zapewnia to prędkość do 28 w. i zasięg do 4500 mil morskich przy prędkości ekonomicznej 18 w. Załoga składa się z 201 oficerów i marynarzy. It has space for a single SH-60B LAMPS III Seahawk multi-purpose helicopter on the aft.