Construction under way for Spanish F110 frigates
Block 311 is placed onto slipway 2 at Navantia's Ferrol shipyard. The company has already built a pilot block for the F111 ship prior to building the keel block to fine-tune its production systems. (Photo: Navantia)
Spanish shipbuilder, Navantia, has completed the first step in the construction of the Spanish Navy’s first new F110 class frigate.
The company laid the keel for the first of five frigates, F111, at its Ferrol shipyard in A Coruna during a ceremony on 9 August.
In a press release, Navantia stated that fabrication of the keel block started in April 2022 and that F111 would be launched in 2025 before being delivered to the Spanish Navy in 2028.
The shipyard will continue to deliver the remaining four ships in the F110 class (numbering F112-F115) on an annual drumbeat through to 2032 when the fifth and final unit will be commissioned.
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Construction on ship 2, F112, is expected to begin by the end of 2023. Navantia stated that production is ahead of schedule with 18 of a total 33 blocks that will make up F111 in the manufacturing process.
A ‘digital twin’ vessel is being developed at Ferrol that is a virtual replica of the ship that receives data from the frigate's sensors in real time through a series of networks that improves support and maintenance operations.
The five F110 ships will replace the Spanish Navy’s Santa Maria-class frigates and be equipped with anti-aircraft, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
The contract for the F110 programme was signed with Navantia in 2019 for €4.325 billion.
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