Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1467328
1 Bofors 57 mm gun, two 40 mm Bofors guns, and just 12 CAMM missiles in centrally located VLS. Thales NS110 is the primary radar here, with a single, rotating S-Band AESA antenna. The fire control system is based on two Thales Mirador EO systems. Regardless of the selected variant, Thales would be delivering the integrated combat system. The company works closely with Thales, within the framework of the project pursued by the Royal Navy. Thanks to the above, the Tacticos combat suite, and some of the offered sensors, have already been integrated with Babcock's platform. Thales has a broad portfolio of products to offer. Apart from the Tacticos CMS, the company also proposes a broad range of radars (NS100, NS200, NS400, APAR Block 2, or SMART-L NM), or combined STING EO Mark 2 radar-EO fire control systems, Mirador EO systems, or SIGINT/ELINT/EW systems. In the underwater warfare department, Thales offers hull sonars, such as Kingklip Mk 2, along with the CAPTAS sonar family - CAPTAS 1, CAPTAS 2, and CAPTAS 4, from the least advanced ones to the most sophisticated system. The Danish, or rather British design (after being bought by Babcock) is por- trayed as a highly modular solution that is ready to receive a broad array of sensors and effectors selected by the customer. At the same time, one should note that the well-designed po- werplant that is also cheap to procure and operate, with diesel „minimum", „medium", and „maximum". When discussing the po- tential equipment, one shall refer to two formats of the vessel that were materialized, being ordered by the customer in the predefined configuration. The „maximum" option refers to three Danish Iver Huitfeldt frigates. These vessels - a starting point for the Arrowhead 140 - carry an expansive set of armaments, including two 76 mm OTO Melara guns, 35 mm Millenium CIWS, or two dual light ASW torpedo launchers. The primary armament is located in a „well" in the central section of the ship, accommo- dating 32-cell Strike Mk 41 VLS, and four Standard Flex module slots - each of them may accommodate Mk 56 VLS housing 12 ESSM Block 1 SHORAD SAMs, or Mk 141 launcher, accom- modating 8 Harpoon anti-ship missiles. The sensor package is also quite impressive: the radar duo comprises of four-array X-band APAR radar, with AESA antennas, and SMART-L L-band radar placed on a lower mast, on top of the hangar, with one ro- tating antenna with a large aperture. The vessels also received the Atlas ASO 94 hull sonar, providing them with basic submari- ne detection capabilities. The whole package is complemented with CEROS 200 fire control system, an ELINT package, and decoy launchers. On the second far end of the spectrum one may find the Type 31 Frigates, also referred to as the Inspira- tion-class - with a very modest armament package, including www.fragoutmag.com