Izar Ferreol Shipyard Celebrates Launch of the Frigate "Méndez Núñez"
(Source: Izar; issued Nov. 12, 2004)
(Issued in Spanish; unofficial translation by defense-aerospace.com)
The Izar Ferreol shipyard today celebrated the launch of the frigate "Méndez Núñez", fourth of the F-100 series for the Spanish Navy.
The ship was sponsored by Emilia Ripoll Hair, widow of the Captain Manuel Martín-Oar, deceased in a terrorist attack in Iraq. The ceremony was attended by the Vice-president of SEPI, Federico Montero and of the President of Izar, Juan Pedro Go'mez Jaén and by AJEMA Sebastián Zaragoza Grove.
The shipyard has completed about 80% of the ship’s construction, thanks to the system of integrated construction that was developed in the shipyard. The frigate, designated F-104, will be handed over to the Spanish Navy in February 2006, when the F-100 program will be completed.
The construction of the four frigates which constitute the F-100 program began in July 1997, and has generated for the Ferreol shipyard more than twelve million man-hours of production work and approximately one million man-hours of engineering work, making the F-100 project the largest in the Ferreol’s history.
The F-100 is one of the most advanced frigates in the world thanks to its high technological content and the power of its armament fit. In addition, it is the basis of another important Izar program, the F-310-class frigates for Norway. This consists of five ships, the first of which was launched on July 3.
This it is also a key ship for the development of other naval designs, such as smaller frigates and corvettes, which incorporate the Aegis weapon system. Thanks to its experience with the F-100-class, Izar has acquired experience in fitting the Aegis to much smaller ships than the Aegis destroyers of the US Navy.
The Ferreol shipyard is the only shipyard of the world that is simultaneously executing two programs of frigates as advanced as the Spanish F-100s and the F-310s for Norway.
The great technological potential of these frigates has taken Izar, Lockheed Martin and Bath Iron Works to start the AFCON partnership, which aims to export ships fitted with the Aegis weapon systems throughout the world.
The Ferreol shipyard is also currently working on a third naval program, the development of a strategic projection (amphibious warfare) ship, with a large aviation component, for the Spanish Navy, the contract for which was signed in March 2004.
That ship is currently in the advanced design phase, and construction will begin during the first half of 2005; its delivery is scheduled for December 2008. This program will generate almost four million man-hours, of which 775,000 engineering man-hours.
This ship has elicited the interest of other countries like Australia, whose Navy has signed with Izar an agreement for the development of a similar Strategic Projection Ship, on which the company’s technical staff has recently begun to work.
In addition, and to explore future marketing possibilities, Izar has invited delegations from several countries (Argentina, Mexico and Venezuela among others) to which it has provided information to them on its capabilities in the field of frigates.
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