INDUSTRY NEWS
The Government of the United States has awarded a contract to the United States shipyard General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (GDBIW), supported by the Spanish ship designer and shipyard Navantia, for a conceptual design for the FFG(X) program.
The FFG(X) Program is considering the acquisition of 20 frigates with construction in the United States.
The Australian variant of the F-100 frigate will be used as a reference design to be adapted to the requirements of the U.S. Navy. The F-100 'Alvaro de Bazán' frigate has a proven track record of being built in different shipyards in different countries. There are currently 11 units of the F-100 frigate in-service, including its variants the Australian AWD Hobart class and the Norwegian F310 Fridtjof Nansen class, with an expected total of 13 units operating in 2019.
The 16-month Concept Design contract is scheduled to end in mid-2019 when the team will respond to a RFQ for the Detailed Design and Construction contract of the ships, planned to be awarded in 2020.
In order to ensure the program runs to cost and schedule, the U.S. Navy requires designs that are based on a parent-design already in service. Navantia’s expertise in frigate design and its successful track record of global exports made the partnership a natural one for GDBIW.
Navantia has proven itself as a valuable partner to GDBIW over 40 years, having worked together on the Spanish Oliver Hazard Perry/Santa María FFG, the AFCON corvette project, and the Australian Hobart Class.
Navantia currently supports the U.S. Navy in maintaining the forward-deployed DDGs, which provide Europe’s Ballistic Missile Defense at Rota, Spain. That contract was signed in 2013 and is still being successfully executed for the U.S. Navy.
With bids based on the F-100/Hobart Class already submitted for the Australian SEA-5000 Future Frigate program and the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) program, Navantia can offer seamless commonality between these important allies and U.S. five-eyes partners.
With this contract award for the FFG(X) program, together with the Australian SEA-5000 and the Canadian Surface Combatant programs, makes Navantia, with its F-100 variants, the only company that is competing in all three of these major frigate programs.
About General Dynamics Bath Iron Works
General Dynamics Bath Iron Works is a full service shipyard specializing in the design, construction and support of complex surface ships, providing the U.S. Navy with advanced, high quality surface combatants for more than a century.
About Navantia
The Spanish shipbuilder Navantia, is a world reference in the design, construction and integration of state-of-the-art warships, as well as ship repairs and modernizations. Navantia is also designs and manufactures Propulsion and Power Generation Plants, Integrated Platform Management Systems, Combat Systems, Combat Management Systems, Fire Control Systems, Integrated Communications Systems, Integrated Navigation Systems, and through life support for all its products. Even though its main line of activity is in the naval domain, Navantia also designs and manufactures systems for the Army.
