Norwegian AAW/ASW Frigate 20XX

[Moose]

The Norwegian Navy seems to be circling in on a few options for their new multirole frigates to replace the Nansen class.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1814370088583086517

View: https://twitter.com/JUitdeketting/status/1814370088583086517?t=vNTJSQAK8fIzGqBC2yZnkw&s=19

 

[TomS]

The Norwegian Navy seems to be circling in on a few options for their new multirole frigates to replace the Nansen class.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1814370088583086517

View: https://twitter.com/JUitdeketting/status/1814370088583086517?t=vNTJSQAK8fIzGqBC2yZnkw&s=19

This list looks like pretty much every mid-to-high-end combatant currently being developed. It feels like an Analysis of Alternatives, not a competition per se.

 

[Scott Kenny]

This list looks like pretty much every mid-to-high-end combatant currently being developed. It feels like an Analysis of Alternatives, not a competition per se.

Agreed, those ships are very different in capabilities.

 

[Moose]

Vard pushing to build Constellation-class frigates for Norway

Norway's Vard hosts senior officials, argues for Constellation-class designed by ‘our closest ally’ - Breaking Defense

Vard recently hosted a high-level defense ministry tour, but it faces competition from other internationally renowned shipbuilders, including the UK's BAE Systems, France's Naval Group and Damen Group from the Netherlands.

breakingdefense.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

That's... a brave maneuver, given the design's issues.

 

[Moose]

That's... a brave maneuver, given the design's issues.

The issues currently are mostly related to getting the design finalized and built, Vard's pitch will be of the finished product or as close as they can get.

 

[TomS]

The issues currently are mostly related to getting the design finalized and built, Vard's pitch will be of the finished product or as close as they can get.

Seems like going the long way around when they could just buy their own FREMM variant from Italy.

 

[Phoenix_jz]

Seems like going the long way around when they could just buy their own FREMM variant from Italy.

The problem we run into here is that Norway really wants it to be a common variant with the navy of whoever builds it, and for the first ship to be delivered in 2029. Coming from using Aegis on their last ships, and being a member of the ESSM consortium, that clashes with, say, just buying FREMM-EVO off of Italy (the same goes for FDI from France).

It also has to be said that Fincantieri's yard responsible for building Italian major surface combatants - Riva Trigoso - is going to be packed for the foreseeable future. They plan to cut first steel on both the FREMM-EVO imminently (for delivery of the first ship in 2029 and the second in 2030, and the pair of DDX will not be far behind them. There is also the two PPA that will replace those sold to Indonesia, which and Fincantieri wants to start building those next year. They are, at present, building the new oceanic hydrography ship for the MMI (NIOM) and just cut steel on the first 'PPX' OPV. It is hard to see Italy delivering a frigate to Norway in 2029, from an Italian yard, unless one of the FREMM-EVO is redirected to them.

Vard's proposal is to build the hulls of the their FREMM at one of their yards in Romania, and then bring them to Norway to complete fitting out. They may also be something that sits between the FREMM-IT and FFG-62, rather than a pure copy of the Constellation-class. Which is at least something Fincantieri has looked at before - their offering to Greece had options for FREMM fitted with either European or American systems - but this would not be the same as being common to either design.