The frigates to be built at Navantia will guarantee ten years of work in Ferrol
The macro-contract authorized by the Cabinet signed in one month
Government gave yesterday last step before the building contract of five frigates for the Spanish Army in Ferrol. The Cabinet authorized Defence Ministry to perform execution order (what would mean at Civil market the contract signature) of the F-110 that would mean an estimate invest of 4,317 million Euro. Chronometer switches on with this landmark to be stopped, if predictions are full filled, when Navantia and Margarita Robles office sign the order. As in every military contract, a year of engineering works will begin, where the minimum detail of the ships, their equipment and outputs will be defined, and it will be after 2020 when will start the physical construction on the workshops.
Government informed this millionaire invest means a recognition of Ferrol Bay naval on the need of substituting six Santa María frigates that “entered into service on 1986, and all of them are on the last 3rd of their life”. In fact, from 2021 will arrive to the end of their lifetime, therefore, “in order to keep the actual capabilities, it will be necessary to replace them by F-110 frigates”. Navantia and the Army have been working for years on this program development, that, according the Government, “it is of economic, industrial and social relevance for the global national industry, due to the complex design, integration of advance systems and main platform construction.” With green light to the order signature a program is authorized, including not only the construction of five ships, but also of equipment’s (life vests, interior security materials, mooring wires, etc.) and first installation spares from each boat needed to guarantee navigation security without external support. Moreover, Navantia will also have to give logistic support needed to operate the frigates, “that involves vessel logistic information to get documents (maintenance plan, provisioning and training), as well as systems needed for the scale model and digital tween execution.”
(Source: La Voz de Galicia)