Spain’s aging F-80 frigates will launch advanced ammunition
MADRID, SPAIN — The Navy has awarded a contract to Fluidmecanica Sur to maintain the MK-13 Mod 4 GMLS [Guided Missile Launch System] launchers, the MK-32 torpedo launcher, and the MK-36 launcher for the six Santa María-class frigates.
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The company will also perform work on fine-tuning auxiliary cooling systems for the veteran F-80 fighter system. The six frigates [Santa María, Victoria, Numancia, Reina Sofía, Navarra, and Canarias] make up the 41st Escuadrilla de Escoltas based in Rota.
The contract has a budget of 840,000 euros and a duration of almost two years. However, the estimated value is double, 1,680,000 euros, including a possible extension.
Among the systems installed on board, the F-80 has an Mk-13 drum launcher with a capacity for 40 Standard-1 and Harpoon missiles, two Mk-32 triple launchers for Mk-46 torpedoes, and four decoy launch systems MK36 with six tubes. The latter is part of the countermeasures of the frigate.
All six Santa Maria-class frigates are at the end of their lives. The first of the series, the Santa María, entered service in 1986, 37 years ago, while the last, the Canarias, was delivered to the fleet in 1994. These ships will gradually be replaced by the modern F-110s by 2027.
The information available on the works included in the contract is limited, as it is processed through a non-public negotiation procedure. The file is maintained through the Directorate “Economic Management” of the Headquarters for Logistics Assurance of the Navy.
Fluidmecanica Sur regularly works with the Navy in the maintenance and repair of weapons systems on ships. Two years ago, the company, with offices in Chiclana, Ferrol, Cartagena, Madrid, and Vigo, won a contract to maintain the MK-38 Mod 2A guns of the six naval vessels [BAM] and the frigate Cristóbal Colón [F-105].
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