Type 31 frigates. The future of the Royal Navy
Frigate Type 31, render: babcockinternational.com
In the coming years, the Royal Navy of Great Britain should be seriously renewed.
The "National Shipbuilding Strategy" implemented by the British government involves the purchase of fleet large surface ships. Not so long ago, the fleet included the aircraft carriers "Queen Elizabeth" and "Prince of Wales", which became the largest warships in stories Great Britain. Large-scale replenishment awaits the ranks of frigates.
UK naval building plans
In the near future, the Royal Navy of Great Britain will have to replenish fundamentally new frigates.
Two series are being prepared for construction. Anti-submarine frigates Type 26 and general-purpose frigates Type 31. The dominions of Great Britain are also showing increased interest in the Type 26 frigate. It is known that 9 ships were ordered by Australia and 15 - by Canada.
Frigates of the Type 26 project, the main task of which will be the fight against enemy submarines (while the ships will also be able to solve air defense tasks and be involved in general-purpose operations), it is planned to build a series of 8 ships. The first ship of the Glasgow series was laid down in the summer of 2017. They are slated to be completed by the mid-2020s.
The construction of these ships with a standard displacement of more than 6 tons is expensive for the crown. The laying of the first three Type 900 frigates at the Glasgow shipyards cost the budget £ 26 billion, and the total cost of building 3,7 ships in 8 was estimated at £ 2016 billion. The frigates are designed and built by BAE Systems.
The UK expects to build the General Purpose Frigates Type 31 in a smaller series. Currently, contracts have been signed for the construction of five frigates with a standard displacement of 5 tons. Two more ships will be built for the Indonesian Navy. Of the entire series, one ship is currently laid down.
Frigates of the Arrowhead 140 project, render: babcockinternational.com
The program for their construction is designed for 2021-2027, while all ships of the series are expected to be put into operation by February 2030. Today the names of all five frigates of the Type 31 project are already known: Venturer, Bulldog, Campbeltown, Formidable, Active. The first frigate to be built will be the Venturer. The second name of the warships of this project: Inspiration-class frigates.
In addition to Indonesia, which has already signed a contract for the construction of two warships of this project, the military of Greece, Poland and two other countries, which are still not disclosed, are showing interest in them. The export name of the frigates of this type is Arrowhead 140. The shipbuilding company Babcock International is responsible for their development and creation.
It is worth noting that Babcock International previously became the main industrial partner and contractor of Ukraine in the construction and expansion of the fleet. It is this company that will design and partially build for Ukraine 8 large missile boats with a displacement of 400 tons and a length of at least 50 meters. It is assumed that small patrol ships of the Protector family can become the basis for them.
What is known about the Type 31 frigates
Babcock International is responsible for the development and construction of frigates of the Type 31 project, a large British defense company that specializes in the production of defense, aerospace and nuclear products.
In September 2019, it became known that it was Babcock International that would fulfill the contract for the construction of a series of Type 31 frigates for the Royal Navy of Great Britain. Then the average cost of building one ship in the series was estimated at 250 million pounds. Compared to the Type 26 frigates, these warships can be called budgetary.
Babcock International emphasizes the importance of the project for the UK economy. The construction of the ships will allow loading local enterprises and create new jobs, the maintenance of which will allow, according to the ideas of the developers, the good export potential of the new product.
Babcock International manufacturing facility, photo: babcockinternational.com
Press releases highlight the frigate supply chain across the UK and a wide range of economic and employment opportunities. At the peak of the program's development, 1 new highly qualified employees will be attracted, and the same number of jobs will be created in the wide supply chain within the country.
The new warship grew out of the Arrowhead 140 project and combines innovation with the expertise of UK shipbuilders. Arrowhead 140 (140 in the name - the total length of the ship) - export, commercial designation of new warships. According to the assurances of the developers, this is a modern warship that will be able to withstand the sea threats of today and tomorrow. It is especially emphasized that the ship was created based on British engineering solutions and inventions.
The ship is distinguished by its modular design and flexible, highly adaptable platform, which provides good export advantages. The frigate can compete in the market by changing the value for money. In the Royal Navy of Great Britain, Type 31 frigates will solve a wide range of tasks: from peacekeeping and humanitarian missions to various military operations.
It is emphasized that the Arrowhead 140 is a multipurpose frigate equipped with modern control and communication systems. The ship is specially designed to reduce operating costs. It is emphasized that the ships of this project will receive a Thales combat control system. Thanks to this, the Royal Navy with Type 31 frigates will join the global community of 26 navies around the world, which are already using the Thales Tacticos battle management system.
Technical features of the Type 31 frigates
The frigates of the Type 31 project are fairly large warships. The displacement of the frigates will be approximately 5 tons. The maximum length of the ship is 700 meters, the width is up to 138,7 meters. The maximum draft of the ship is 20 meters.
Frigate Type 31, render: babcockinternational.com
The frigate is powered by a twin-shaft diesel main power plant, consisting of 4 powerful Rolls Royce / MTU 20V 8000 M71 diesel engines with a total capacity of 8,2 MW. The maximum speed of the ship is over 28 knots (approximately 52 km / h). The maximum cruising range is over 7 nautical miles (approximately 000 km). In this case, the autonomy of the ship is up to 12 days.
The frigate can be operated with a crew of less than 100 people, which is obviously achieved due to the high level of automation and computerization of the processes taking place on the ship. At the same time, there are premises on board the ship that allow, if necessary, accommodate up to 180 crew members with all the conveniences.
Armament of frigates Type 31
Thales is responsible for the radar armament, electronic warfare and electronic warfare systems of the ship. As noted above, the frigates will receive the Thales Tacticos battle management system. In addition, all ships will be equipped with the modern Thales Vigile-D electronic warfare system. Fire control systems are also performed by this company, as well as the Thales NS110 general target detection radar.
The artillery armament of the export ships will be represented by the Mark 114 universal 8-mm naval artillery system with a barrel length of 55 calibers. The maximum firing range of the gun slightly exceeds 30 km. The same guns have already been installed on the Type 45 destroyers and will appear on the Type 26 frigates. In addition, the ship can be equipped with up to two 57-mm universal turret artillery mounts Bofors Mk. III with a barrel length of 70 calibers.
At the same time, the British chose a more modest armament model for their ships. On October 1, 2020, it became known that the Admiralty had purchased five Bofors Mk. III and 31 automatic 10-mm cannons Bofors 40 Mk40 in turret mounts. In addition, 4 six-barreled 4-mm M7,62 Minigun machine guns and 134 general-purpose machine guns of the same caliber will be installed on board.
57-mm universal artillery mount Bofors Mk. III on a Finnish missile boat, photo: wikimedia.org
The ship's anti-aircraft missile armament will be represented by the Sea Ceptor air defense system with 24 vertical missile launch cells. This complex can use various CAMM missiles with a range of 1 to 40 km.
In addition, there is ample space on board the ship to accommodate various anti-ship missiles. On the renders and videos shown by Babcock International, you can see up to 8 launch containers for anti-ship missiles, which most of all resemble the installation for launching the RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile system.
There is a covered helicopter hangar on board the frigates. At the same time, the ship can take on board the AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat and AgustaWestland Merlin HM2 anti-submarine helicopters. The latter can also be used in the role of AWACS helicopters equipped with aviation complex radio detection and guidance (AEW) Crowsnest.
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