The first MEKO A200 frigate built for the Algerian National Navy has been undocked at Abu Dhabi Mar Kiel (ADM Kiel) shipyard on 5 December 2014. The approximately 3,700t (full displacement) ship, with the hull number 910, will be delivered to Algeria within the next 12 months. The €2.17 billion (U$2.7 billion) contract signed between the Algerian government and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) in March 2012 foresees the delivery of a pair of MEKO A200 frigates.
The deal also encompasses the delivery of six AgustaWestland SUPER LYNX 300 (Mk140) helicopters equipped with Denel Dynamics MOKOPA missiles. Eurotorp will deliver 82 examples of its MU90 Impact lightweight torpedo. According to Thales Underwater Systems (TUS) in Le Bourget in October 2014, three of the aircraft will be equipped with the Compact FLASH lightweight active dipping sonar. Helicopter crew training will appear in Germany.
The two frigates are based on the MEKO A200SAN (VALOUR class) frigates delivered to the South African Navy between 2002 and 2004. They will carry a sensor/weapon package consisting of one Saab SEA GIRAFFE AMB (Agile Multi-Beam) 3D surveillance radar; two Saab CEROS 200 radar/electro-optical (EO) fire control directors; a single OTO Melara 127/64 LW (Lightweight) medium-calibre naval gun; two MSI-Defence 30mm cannons; and four Rheinmetall Defence MASS softkill decoy launchers. In addition to this, there will be provision for up to 32 vertically launched Denel Dynamics UMKHONTO-IR point defence missiles and space for up to 16 Saab/Diehl Defence RBS 15 Mk3 anti-ship missiles. Similar to their South African equivalents, the two Algerian frigates feature low-observable technologies in combination with a waterjet propulsion system.
The two MEKO A200 frigates will be the largest surface combatants of the Algerian National Navy, joining a surface fleet of Cold War design mainly of Russian, Chinese, and British origin consisting of over 50 ships and boats plus a pair of Russian KILO II (Projekt 636) diesel-electric submarines and two older KILO I (Projekt 877-EM) submarines built in the USSR. The Algerian government also signed a contract with China Shipbuilding Trading Company for the construction of three light frigates with a displacement of approximately 2,800 tons. Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard built a single multipurpose amphibious transport dock ship, the KALAAT BENI-ABBÈS (474), which entered the water on 14 January 2014.
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| With the two 7,210nm (13,350km) range MEKO A200 frigates, Algeria will strengthen its surface ship capabilities in the Western Mediterranean. Pictured here is the yet to be named first ship (hull number 910) on 6 December 2014 in Kiel, Germany. (Photo: F. Vornholt) |
The deal also encompasses the delivery of six AgustaWestland SUPER LYNX 300 (Mk140) helicopters equipped with Denel Dynamics MOKOPA missiles. Eurotorp will deliver 82 examples of its MU90 Impact lightweight torpedo. According to Thales Underwater Systems (TUS) in Le Bourget in October 2014, three of the aircraft will be equipped with the Compact FLASH lightweight active dipping sonar. Helicopter crew training will appear in Germany.
The two frigates are based on the MEKO A200SAN (VALOUR class) frigates delivered to the South African Navy between 2002 and 2004. They will carry a sensor/weapon package consisting of one Saab SEA GIRAFFE AMB (Agile Multi-Beam) 3D surveillance radar; two Saab CEROS 200 radar/electro-optical (EO) fire control directors; a single OTO Melara 127/64 LW (Lightweight) medium-calibre naval gun; two MSI-Defence 30mm cannons; and four Rheinmetall Defence MASS softkill decoy launchers. In addition to this, there will be provision for up to 32 vertically launched Denel Dynamics UMKHONTO-IR point defence missiles and space for up to 16 Saab/Diehl Defence RBS 15 Mk3 anti-ship missiles. Similar to their South African equivalents, the two Algerian frigates feature low-observable technologies in combination with a waterjet propulsion system.
The two MEKO A200 frigates will be the largest surface combatants of the Algerian National Navy, joining a surface fleet of Cold War design mainly of Russian, Chinese, and British origin consisting of over 50 ships and boats plus a pair of Russian KILO II (Projekt 636) diesel-electric submarines and two older KILO I (Projekt 877-EM) submarines built in the USSR. The Algerian government also signed a contract with China Shipbuilding Trading Company for the construction of three light frigates with a displacement of approximately 2,800 tons. Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard built a single multipurpose amphibious transport dock ship, the KALAAT BENI-ABBÈS (474), which entered the water on 14 January 2014.
Stefan Nitschke