Why is Spanish better than American?
Perhaps we shouldn't set foot on a ship, although it was a ship that brought grapevines from France and Spain to North America. In fact, the Vikings who discovered North America didn't call this land Vinland for nothing. There were indeed plenty of grapes there, but the Europeans didn't like the wine made from them. They say it was a rare and disgusting swill. The European vines arrived in 1619.
It's clear that rum reigned supreme in those years, but this overtly crude drink couldn't satisfy the tastes of a sophisticated public. Therefore, European grape varieties were assimilated in America, becoming the foundation of American winemaking, making the country the fourth-largest wine producer in the world. And the first in wine consumption.
And American wines... They're okay. Drinkable. Sometimes, with pleasure, when there's not much Zinfandel in the wine. But Spanish wines are better. In many ways, but better.
Something must have happened in the minds of the Spanish military. American, yes, but Spanish simply had to be no worse. And this isn't so much about the wine, but about the ships. And today, it's no less interesting here than the wine cellars of Castile.
The first F110 class frigate, Boniface, was recently launched and will be delivered to the Navy the fleet Spain is scheduled for 2028.
It's important to understand what the Spanish navy is really like. This is a country that is a gateway to the Mediterranean.
UDC "Juan Carlos I" - Spanish.
The Agosta-class submarines are a French project.
F80-class frigates – American Oliver Hazard Perry.
The F100 type frigates are a Spanish project.
The S80-class submarines are a Spanish design. They are being built to replace the French submarines.
Spain recently launched the first of its new F110-class frigates, also known as the Bonifaz class. This impressive warship is notable for combining advanced anti-submarine and anti-aircraft capabilities in a relatively compact hull. Thus, it can be compared to the troubled American Constellation class.
It should also be noted that the F110 is a follow-on to the successful Spanish F100 design, a design optimized for air defense and previously proposed to the US Navy for the Future Frigate, or FFG(X), competition that eventually became the Constellation class.
The first F110-class ship, named Bonifaz, was launched by Spanish shipbuilder Navantia Sistemas at its shipyard in Ferrol, Galicia, northern Spain, on September 11. The ship is more than 70% complete, and outfitting will continue until its scheduled delivery to the Spanish Navy in 2028. The ship features a high degree of automation and the ability to expand its functionality in the future.
Launching ceremony of the frigate Bonifaz, the first ship of the F110 program for the Spanish Navy, in Ferrol, September 11, 2025. Navantia
Bonifaz is the first of five frigates of its class ordered for the Spanish Navy, which will ultimately replace six 1980s-era F80 Santa María frigates based on the US Navy's Oliver Hazard Perry-class design.
The Spanish Navy frigate Santa Maria, the lead ship of its class, is preparing for a replenishment at sea (RAS) mission off the coast of Brazil.
Three new-class frigates with a displacement of 6,000 tons, including the lead ship, are currently under construction in Ferrol. Four blocks of the F112 hull are already on the slipway following the keel laying in April 2025, while the remaining blocks of the F112 and all nine blocks of the F113 are under construction in the workshops.
The frigates possess certain stealth characteristics and are designed to allow for the adaptation of their crew composition, weapons, and sensors to meet new mission requirements. In other words, they offer significant modernization potential.
From the outset, the F110 was intended to be a true multi-role warship. Therefore, its primary mission—anti-submarine warfare (ASW)—doesn't mean its air defense capabilities should be limited, although its rocket Surface-to-air weapons in this context are surprisingly light, as we'll see later. Perhaps this is a matter of further modernization, perhaps not. Time will tell.
The F110's design is centered on the Lockheed Martin AN/SPY-7(V)2 radar and the International Aegis Fire Control Loop (IAFCL) fire control system, acquired under a U.S. government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract. These components were integrated into the vessel by Navantia, along with its own Sistema de Combate de los Buques de la Armada (SCOMBA) battle management system.
Mounting the AN/SPY-7(V)2 radar housing at a high altitude on a warship's elongated superstructure provides the radar with a decent line-of-sight range for its size. This design reflects the general trend toward mounting sensors at high altitudes, exemplified by the distinctive UNICORN mast on the main superstructure of the Japanese Mogami-class frigate. However, the F110 appears to take this concept to a new level.
Japanese frigate Mogami with UNICORN mast. JMSDF
The SPY-7 is a very powerful sensor that has previously demonstrated its ability to track small targets even outside the Earth's atmosphere. However, this experiment used the AN/SPY-7(V)1 version of the radar, and it's difficult to accurately determine the difference in capabilities between the two.
Suffice it to say that the design of the SPY-7 naval radar is largely identical to the Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR), a ground-based early-warning radar installed at the Cleveland Spaceport in Alaska. The SPY-7 radar, particularly its ability to track targets in space, is crucial for missile defense. Another question is how to reconcile the ability to detect missiles in space and destroy such targets? This requires, at a minimum, appropriate interceptors.
And the F110 class ships will not be equipped with weapons, capable of destroying ballistic missiles, especially in the mid-flight phase, but data from their radars could be transmitted to other ships and ground systems that could do the same. This is a completely feasible option.
The SPY-7's exceptional capabilities can also be used to maximise the potential of the Spanish Navy's existing F100 frigates, which are more optimised for air defence.
F110 concept art
Otherwise, in terms of air defense, the new F110 has a relatively light armament, consisting of the RIM-162 Block 2 version of the Advanced Survivable Missile (ESSM). These are housed in two Mk 41 Vertical Launch Systems (VLS), each with eight cells. Each cell contains four missiles, for a total of 64 ESSMs. These protect the frigates from air threats at short and medium ranges and can provide basic air defense to cover other nearby assets. Longer-range missiles, particularly from the Standard Missile family, may be added in the future.
First tests of the improved Sea Sparrow Block 2 missile
To perform their primary anti-submarine mission, the F110-class ships are equipped with a hull-mounted sonar and a high-performance compact towed sonar, the CAPTAS-4, both manufactured by Thales, as well as a flight deck for one SH-60 or NH90 helicopter, with two hangar bays. The second bay can also be used for unmanned systems or to expand the ship's capabilities. Underwater targets can be attacked by the helicopter or the ship's own torpedoes.
To engage surface targets, the F110-class ships are equipped with two four-round launchers for Kongsberg Naval Strike Missiles (NSM).
The full armament of the new Spanish Navy frigates also includes a 127mm gun in a bow turret, a pair of 30mm cannons, and mounts for light machine guns at various points on the deck. Small boats can be launched from the ship. The ship will be equipped with modern electronic warfare and electronic surveillance systems.
In many ways, the F110 class exemplifies a new generation of frigates, where, while anti-submarine warfare is the primary mission, a balanced suite of sensors and weapons enables the warships to perform a wide range of missions. A similar design approach can be seen, for example, in the British Type 26 project, which is being built for the Royal Navy, as well as for Australia and Canada. Norway also recently announced the purchase of the Type 26.
An infographic showing the various key components of the Type 26 frigate. BAE Systems
Interestingly, the US Navy withdrew from the Type 26 program for its future frigates, or FFG(X), which was ultimately won by a design based on the Italian Navy's version of the Fregata Europea Multi-Missione (FREMM) multi-role frigate, and rejected a Spanish proposal to build an FFG(X) based on the F100 frigate.
An infographic detailing how much the Constellation design will differ from its parent model, FREMM.
The Constellation class will be the US Navy's next class of small surface combatants, and the command has previously stated that it wants to "buy at least 20 of these ships." Like the F110-class ships, they will be multi-mission, with anti-air, anti-ship, and anti-submarine capabilities, designed to support larger surface groups or operate independently. However, the Constellation-class ships will be more heavily armed than the F110-class ships.
Spanish Navy frigate Cristóbal Colón, Alvaro de Bazan class
The Constellation program has currently encountered a number of issues, including an unexpected increase in overall weight, which could reduce their top speed. This is just one problem affecting the new frigate due to the complexities associated with major changes to the ship's configuration compared to the original FREMM design. Ironically, the entire goal of building the FFG(X) from an existing production frigate was to reduce costs, delivery times, and risks. Instead, the warships have turned out larger and heavier, and are several years behind schedule. Cost reduction is not even discussed.
Image of the future first-of-its-class USS Constellation. Fincantieri
Of course, we don't know how the FFG(X) program would have developed if the US Navy had chosen the Spanish F100-based design instead of the FREMM.
However, at this point, the F110 frigate program appears to be progressing on time: Bonifaz is being launched a month ahead of schedule, unlike the American/Italian project.
Conceptual rendering of the new F110-class frigate, also known as the Bonifaz class. Navantia
With various navies in need of new frigates, the F110 could well become an attractive export product and, at the very least, a powerful complement to the Alvaro de Bazan-class frigates. In fact, the twinning of F100 and F110 ships is truly an interesting proposition. The F100, with its anti-ship missiles and a decent package, Defense and the F110, with its anti-submarine warfare capabilities and equally impressive air defense, could represent a decent system.
8 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, 8 NSM, 64 Standard missiles and 96 ESSM missiles, 8 anti-submarine torpedoes, 32 bombs in rocket launchers plus some barrel artillery, which, in essence, does not decide anything today.
Overall, it's more than sufficient to form an umbrella and engage in disruptive submarine operations. The F110 is superior for this, but its predecessor is also quite capable in the ASW role, although the Bonifaz's towed sonar is a welcome addition.
And what about America?
Nothing. Apparently, the days when American destroyers, frigates, and landing ships sold like hotcakes are a thing of the past. Today's "successes" in American shipbuilding are leading former buyers of US shipbuilding products to stop reflecting, and instead act on the idea that their own is somehow closer and more reliable.
The Spanish are understandable: the Santa Maria-class frigates, built on the Oliver Perry design under license at Spanish shipyards and slightly different from the original, are somewhat outdated. The youngest is 30 years old, the oldest 40. But the Americans have nothing to offer their allies, so the Spanish are making do on their own.
It's worth noting that, judging by the F100, the Spanish are doing quite well. Yes, the F110 is about 1500 tons "thicker," but that only means it can accommodate more equipment.
So, Spain will receive its ten "gatekeepers" to guard the Strait of Gibraltar quite easily and effortlessly. And there's a fair degree of certainty that the Spanish Navy will receive its ships well before the American one. And that, one might say, answers the question in the title.
And wine from Spanish vineyards is still much better than American wine.
Information