Military Procurement International Vol. 15, No. 11, June 1, 2005
Copyright DAPSS S.A., 2005, Switzerland. It is unlawful to reproduce any of this publication without written permission from the publisher.
Pakistan
offered three ex-Royal Navy Type 23 frigates
Pakistan Navy Chief-of-Staff Admiral Shahid Karimullah
said during a visit to the UK on May 16 that Britain had offered to sell three
ex-Royal Navy Type 23 frigates to Pakistan. “We have shown interest,” he
said. “We are now going to discuss the funding aspect, the price aspect and,
once that has been completed, then a final decision can be taken.”
Admiral
Karimullah added that the focus of his discussions with Britain’s First Sea
Lord, Admiral Sir Alan West, was on “the training aspect, because the maximum
training required by the Pakistan Navy is from the Royal Navy.”
The RN withdrew
the first of its 16 Type 23 frigates, HMS Norfolk (F230), from service at
end-March this year. According to a written answer by Armed Forces Minister Adam
Ingram on March 21, Norfolk is to be followed into retirement later this year by
HMS Marlborough (F233), and by HMS Grafton (F80) in 2006. The next two Type 23
retirements, of HMS Argyll (F231) and HMS Lancaster (F229), are not planned
until 2019. HMS Iron Duke (F234) is scheduled to be decomissioned in 2020,
followed in 2021 by HMS Monmouth (F235), HMS Montrose (F236) and HMS Westminster
(F237).
The Belgian
Navy is also negotiating to acquire two Type 23 frigates, reportedly HMS
Marlborough and HMS Grafton, in a deal estimated to be worth £164 million (E240
million / US$309 million), to replace its last two Wielingen class frigates. And
the Chilean Navy has expressed a strong interest in buying all three of the
first Type 23s being decomissioned.
The 4,900t Type
23 frigates, all commissioned between 1990 and 2002, are powered by Combined
Diesel-Electric and Gas Turbine (CODLAG) propulsion systems, giving a top speed
of 28kts and a range of 7,800nmi at 15kts.
Armament
includes: two quadruple Boeing Harpoon Anti-Ship Missile launchers; a 32-cell
MBDA Vertical Launch Seawolf Surface-to-Air Missile system; a BAE Systems 4.5in
(114mm) Mk8 gun; two DES/MSI 30mm close range cannon; and two Cray Marine twin
torpedo tubes for BAE Systems Stingray Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) torpedoes.
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