Vasco da Gama-class frigate

The Vasco da Gama class is a class of frigates of the Portuguese Navy. Named in honor of the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, the ships are based on the German MEKO 200 design, and are Portugal's major surface ships. Portugal operates three ships of this class, which were built in Hamburg by Blohm + Voss (B&V) and by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in Kiel, using modular construction techniques.

NRP Corte Real
Class overview
NameVasco da Gama, MEKO 200 PN
Builders
Operators Portuguese Navy
In commission1991–present
Completed3
Active2
Laid up1
General characteristics
TypeFrigate
Displacement
  • 2,920 tons standard
  • 3,200 tons full load
Length115.9 m (380 ft 3 in)
Beam14.8 m (48 ft 7 in)
Draught6.2 m (20 ft 4 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) (gas turbines)
  • 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) (Diesel only)
Range4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement
  • 180
  • 19 officers
  • 40 petty-officers
  • 102 enlisted
  • 13 air crew
  • 6 boarding team
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • 1 APECS II/700 ESM
  • Countermeasures: SRBOC launcher
Armament
Aviation facilitiesFlight deck and hangar for 2 Super Lynx Mk.95 helicopters

The project for the construction of three frigates of this class was authorized by the Portuguese Government in 1985, five years after the request of the Portuguese Navy for the acquisition of new surface ships. According to Conway's, 60% of the funding for these ships came from NATO military aid. Similar ships have been built for the navies of Greece, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand.

Modernization

In 2019, the new Military Programming Law was approved by the Portuguese Assembly of the Republic, which provided an amount of 125 million euros for the modernization of the three frigates of the Vasco da Gama class.[1] In November 2022, the order authorizing the Ministry of National Defence to proceed with the modernization, was signed, in order to be able to use the ships in scenarios of high intensity combat.[2] Among the improvements to be made to the frigates is the incorporation of RIM-162 ESSM Block-2 missiles to replace the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow. The frigate NRP Álvares Cabral, within the scope of this modernization process, received in 2023 a new platform command, control and management system, installed by the Portuguese company Edisoft.[3] It has not been confirmed whether Vasco da Gama, which has been out of service since 2019 and has been seen to have been disarmed and had some of her engines removed as of September 2023, will be modernised, or will be used as a source of spare parts for her sisters.[4]

Ships
Pennant Name Laid down Shipyard Launched Commissioned Fate Photo
F330 Vasco da Gama 2 February 1989 B&V, Hamburg 26 June 1989 18 January 1991 Inactive since 2019; Partially disarmed
F331 Álvares Cabral 2 June 1989 HDW, Kiel 6 June 1990 24 May 1991 In active service
F332 Corte-Real 20 October 1989 HDW, Kiel 22 November 1991 1 February 1992 In active service

Similar ships

See also

Citations
  1. "PSD garante modernização das fragatas Vasco da Gama". www.dn.pt (in European Portuguese). 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  2. "Despacho n.º 12804". diariodarepublica.pt (in European Portuguese). Diário da República. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  3. "Fragata Álvares Cabral concluí testes do sistema de comando". Marinha (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  4. "NRP Vasco da Gama as photographed at the Arsenal do Alfeite shipyard". 20 September 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vasco da Gama class frigates.
  • (in Portuguese) Vasco da Gama class, Portuguese Navy website
  • Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995
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