Spain, located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, borders Portugal to the west, the Gulf of Biscay to the north, France to the northeast, and the Strait of Gibraltar to the south across Morocco in North Africa. The whole of Spain is inserted into the Atlantic Like a clenched fist of Europe. The ocean has witnessed naval empires from rise to peak, and then gradually walk down the altar. The Spanish Navy, which has come all the way from the age of great navigation, has experienced the glory of the Armada, and the loneliness after the defeat, and then to the rise again today, writing a new era of maritime chapters. Today, I will introduce the Spanish Navy's domestically produced Perry-class frigates, Santa Maria-class frigates.
Spain geography
Santa Marian origins
Because Spain is located on the NATO flank and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic, it has an important position in the Strait of Gibraltar, which guards the strategic passage from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, and at the same time needs to prevent the Soviet submarines of the Black Sea Fleet from leaving the Atlantic Ocean. Thus, in the late 1970s, the Spanish Navy began to rub its muscles and put forward ambitious development plans. Among them was the aircraft carrier Principe de Asturias, which had a displacement of 16,700 tons.
Aircraft carrier Principe de Asturias of the Spanish Navy
In order to strengthen the combat strength of the aircraft carrier battle group of the Principe de Asturias and improve the anti-submarine capability of the entire ship formation, the Spanish Navy launched the F80 program, that is, the introduction of the U.S.-made Perry-class frigate technology, which was balanced at that time, and built indigenously, which was the Santa Maria class frigate.
A generation of famous ships - Perry-class frigates
Santa Maria class features
The Design of the Santa Maria-class frigates is largely indistinguishable from the original American Perry-class, with only minor adjustments to some weapons and electronics. In terms of power, the Santa Maria-class frigates use the all-fuel combined power mode (COGAG system), carrying two American-made LM2500 gas turbines (15.3 MW of power per unit), single-shaft propulsion, a maximum speed of 30 knots, and a maximum cruising range of 4500 nautical miles (20 knots).
Three Santa Maria-class frigates + the aircraft carrier Principe de Asturias + the strategic delivery ship Juan Carlos I
| Full load displacement | 3969 tons |
| Length | 137.7 meters |
| Wide profile | 14.3 meters |
| draft | 7.5 meters |
Santa Maria-class weapons
In terms of armament, the Santa Maria-class frigates were equipped with an Otto Melera "76 mm/62 caliber naval gun" and replaced the U.S.-made dense array close-in weapon system equipped with the Perry class with a 12-barrel "Meroka" Mod 2A/2B 20 mm/120 caliber close-in weapon system produced by Bazin. In addition, a classic MK13 Mod4 missile launcher is still arranged in the bow of the ship, which can launch the US "Standard" -1 Block VI air defense missile, with a maximum range of 38 kilometers and a speed of Mach 2, and can also launch the US "Harpoon" Block 1B anti-ship missile.
Classic MK13 Mod4 missile launcher
In terms of anti-submarine weapons, the Santa Maria-class frigates are equipped with two triple-mount MK32 324 mm torpedo launchers capable of firing MK46 Mod5 anti-submarine torpedoes (range 11 km/40 knots). It can also carry two SH-60B Seahawk helicopters for long-range anti-submarine combat missions.
USS Victoria II
In terms of electronic equipment, the Santa Maria-class frigates are equipped with an SPS-49(V)4/6 C/D band air-to-air search radar, an SPS-55 I-band sea-to-sea search radar, and a Type 1650/9 navigation radar. In terms of anti-submarine detection, it is equipped with a SQS-56 medium frequency active search and attack hull sonar and a SQR-19(V)2 low frequency passive tactical tow array radar.
USS Kanarias, the sixth ship
Santa Maria class service
The Santa Maria-class frigates were built in two batches, with a total of six in service, all built on Spanish soil, and the first Santa Maria (F81) did not start construction until 1982 and officially entered service in 1986. The sixth ship, THE CANARIAS (F86), entered service only in 1994.
The first ship, Santa Maria
| Ship name | Laying keel time | Launch time | Service time |
| Santa Maria (F81) | 1982.5.23 | 1984.11.24 | 1986.10.12 |
| Victoria (F82) | 1983.8.16 | 1986.7.23 | 1987.11.11 |
| Numancia (F83) | 1986.1.8 | 1987.1.30 | 1988.11.8 |
| Rena Sophia (F84) | 1987.12.12 | 1989.7.19 | 1990.10.18 |
| Navarre (F85) | 1991.4.15 | 1992.10.23 | 1994.5.30 |
| Canarias (F86) | 1992.4.15 | 1993.6.21 | 1994.12.14 |
The six Santa Maria-class frigates were all modernized in mid-service since 2005, but the Turtle is still alive. So at the end of 2018, the Spanish Navy spent 4.3 billion euros to build five F110 frigates at the veteran shipyard Navantia. Unlike the Alvaro Bazin-class F100 frigates, which focused on air defense, the F110 frigates will strengthen their anti-submarine capabilities while maintaining multi-mission combat capabilities to compensate for the lack of anti-submarine combat capabilities of the Spanish naval fleet after the retirement of the Santa Maria-class frigates.
Tall on the PPT