Category: News

The first is number two

Even though it was the first unit in the series of six ordered and up to 22 required multi-purpose stealth frigates (30FFM) to be launched at the Mitsui shipyard in Tamano in mid-November, the "Kumano" is only the second of its class. The type ship, which was due to be launched at the beginning of November and whose name has not yet been announced, is still on the shelf at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagasaki due to problems with the gas turbine train. Combined MAN diesel and Rolls-Royce gas turbine propulsion should at least accelerate these frigates to 30 knots. Compact design and automated technology have made it possible to reduce costs and crew numbers -...

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30 years in service

The Cold War had just ended and Germany was reunited when the frigate "Vasco da Gama" was commissioned by the Portuguese Navy at Blohm+Voss in Hamburg on 18 January 1991. The order for the construction of three Meko 200PN type ships was signed in 1985. The keel for the type ship, the "Vasco da Gama", was laid on 2 February 1989 and the ship was launched on 26 June of the same year. With a length of 115 metres and a width of just under 15 metres, the ships displace a good 2900 tonnes. Their armament consists of a French-designed 100-millimetre gun, 2x3 Mk32 torpedo tubes, two Harpoon launchers, each with four...

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