Hi everyone!
F-2800-Class Frigate
During the 1970s, the French developed a series of export frigates in three sizes: The C-1800 corvette (no sales), the F-2000 frigate (four sold to Saudi-Arabia) and the F-2800 frigate, the most successful type, of which four each were purchased by Chile and Pakistan.
Resembling a bigger (only marginally longer, but beamier and deeper) F-2000 with more freeboard, better seakeeping and improved structural resilience, the F-2800 was designed to operate in open waters under challenging weather conditions, where the F-2000 would likely quickly meet the limits of their seakeeping abilities. F-2800 also was better equipped for ASW than the primarily antiair/antisurface focused F-2000, mounting the same bow sonar as contemporary French Georges-Leygues-class frigates, had hangar space for two helicopters rather than only one, and were equipped with a sextuple Bofors 375mm ASW mortar forward, with a limited secondary short-range shore bombardment capability. Common features were the all-diesel propulsion and the austere radar equipment, which was limited to a single air/surface search set, a navigation set and a helicopter approach set, and the lack of VDS. For armament, different options were offered, including italian and US gear. By the time the design was finalized in the early 1980s, the market for such ships was more or less saturated with Italian and German designs, and attempts to sell the F-2800 to Portugal, Greece, Colombia, Peru, Iraq and Malaysia all failed. Morocco and Egypt also showed interest, but ultimately could not afford new-built frigates. The lead customer eventually became Chile's Pinochet regime, who - grasping the chance to overtake Argentina after the virtual annihilation of the Argentine navy during the Patagonian War - placed an order for four ships in 1983. The Chileans went for the Spanish Meroka CIWS for close protection and MM40 Exocet missiles for antisurface work; they also chose US 324mm torpedoes instead of the French standard 550mm ones. They were delivered between 1986 and 1988, and were dubbed the Uribe-Class. Pakistan, who had purchased two French submarines from a South African order in 1977 and was satisfied with their performance, was also willing to invest in new-built oceangoing frigates and re-activated the French Connection in 1985, ordering a class of four, which were delivered between 1989 and 1991 (named Khaibar, Saif, Aslat and Jinnah); they featured different armament, substituting Phalanx for Meroka and Harpoon for Exocet. Despite aggressive marketing, no further sales were secured, and the type was considered obsolete by 1990 due to its complete lack of stealth features. In service, these ships proved to be sturdy and easy to maintain, and ran up a long service life; the Chilean vessels were retired between 2015 and 2017, and of the Pakistani batch, the last one lasted till 2022. One Pakistani unit (Saif) was blown up and lost with all hands in 2002, probably by islamist members of her own crew; all others were scrapped.
Technical Data
Displacement: 2850 ts standard / 3750 ts full load
Length: 116,5 m
Beam: 13,2 m
Draught: 5,9 m normal / 6,7 m full load (with bow sonar)
Crew: 205
Power Plant: 2 Shaft CODAD, 4 SEMT-Pielstick Diesels, 42.000 bhp
Speed: 28 kts
Range: 10.000 nm at 15 kts
Sensors
DRBV-15B air/surface search radar
2x DRBN-32 navigation/helicopter approach radars
DRBC-32E GFCS
DUBV-43 hull sonar
Armament (Chilean version)
1 - 100mm/55 Compact cannon
2 - 20mm/120 12-barreled MeRoKa CIWS with integrated fire control
2 - 20mm/70 Oerlikon cannon
2x4 MM40 Exocet launch tubes
1x8 Crotale EDIR SAM system with integrated fire control (26 missiles)
1x6 Bofors 375mm ASW mortar (54 rounds)
2x1 324mm torpedo catapult (30 Mk.46 torpedoes total, also for helicopter deployment)
Hangar and flight pad for two Alouette III helicopters (as delivered; after 2000 replaced by Thiarian Znamenany H1Z helicopters)
Ships in Class (ordered/laid down/commissioned/unlisted):
Almirante Uribe (1983/1984/1986/2015)
Capitan Orella (1983/1984/1987/2015)
Almirante Goni (1983/1985/1987/2016)
Capitan Merino Jarpa (1983/1985/1988/2017)
Cheers
GD