Chapter 706 Frigate
This time Colo and the Colo Corps purchased ships from the British Navy. In fact, there were not many choices, such as destroyers, amphibious assault ships and even aircraft carriers. In addition to being expensive, they also required daily Maintenance and the number of naval soldiers far exceeded Kolo's needs.
So they are currently mainly focusing on frigates.
According to the information Barron received from Errol Brut, commander of the Colo Corps, there are currently two main types of frigates to choose from: Type 22 and Type 23.
The Type 22 frigate is a first-class large-scale ocean-going multi-purpose frigate that the British Navy successively served in the 1970s and 1980s. The construction period spanned eleven years and three batches, with a total of 14 ships in service.
So far, a total of seven Type 22 frigates of this type have been resold to other countries after decommissioning.
This includes Brazil, Romania, Chile and other countries. The last Type 22 frigate that has been traded so far was the Almirante Williams F-19 that was sold to Chile in April 2003. HMS Sheffield, the fifth ship of the second batch.
As for the Type 23 frigate, it is a first-class large multi-purpose frigate focusing on anti-submarine warfare that the British Navy began to serve in large quantities in the 1990s. It is still one of the British Navy's surface ships today. of battleships.
The Type 23 frigates were built in 5 batches. The original plan was to serve 23 ships, but in the end, a total of 16 ships were put into service.
In 2004, due to financial constraints, the British Navy continued to reduce the size of its surface ship fleet, and the size of the Type 23 frigates was reduced to 13 ships.
So the Chilean Navy, the "little prince of second-hand ships", seized on the plan and obtained the Norfolk, Krafton and Marlboro frigates from the British Navy at low prices in 2005. The Krafton was only commissioned in 1997. It had only been in service for 8 years before being sold.
The Norfolk was transferred to Chile in 2006 and renamed the Almirante Cochrane FF-05. It was commissioned on November 22 of the same year.
The Krafton was handed over in 2007, and Chile named it Almirante Lynch FF-07. It was commissioned on March 28, 2007.
The Marboro was handed over to Chile in 2008 and renamed Almirante Condell FF-06, and was commissioned on May 28, 2008.
“Although the price of Type 22 frigates is lower, considering that they are too old, if we choose to buy them, we will not only need to spend an additional amount of money for overall upgrades, but also for daily maintenance. The cost is also higher.”
Maritime vessels, including such warships, need to be inspected and maintained in shipyards on a regular basis. This can be compared to the annual inspection of a car. The older the warship, the shorter the required interval will be. On average, it will be every year. Maintenance costs will also be much higher.
After thinking about it this way, Colo is more inclined to the Type 23 frigate.
After all, this kind of frigate is still the main force of the British Navy, and the current Type 23 frigate has been in service in the British Navy for less than 10 years, and the overall condition is very good.
If these two frigates are equipped, then Colo's naval power will be one of the strongest in the entire West Africa... After all, not to mention that many navies here do not have decent warships, that is, regional The few warships inside can be traced back to the Second World War and the Cold War.
"For example, the Chilean Navy purchased three Type 23 frigates from England between 2006 and 2008. These three frigates have only been in service with the Royal Navy for about 10 years. They are in good condition and are the surface vessels with the highest dispatch rate of the Chilean Navy. Combat ships..."
Barron saw the relevant information and wrote:
"In 2004, In order to build the Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier, the British Royal Navy had to reduce naval military expenditures and retired three Type 23 frigates early. The Chilean Navy took a advantage and bought three relatively new ones for a total price of less than 200 million US dollars. Type 23 frigate. ”
The standard displacement of the Type 23 frigate is 3,500 tons, and the full load displacement is 4,200 tons. It is 133 meters long, 16.1 meters wide and has a draft of 5.5 meters.
The power system is 2 SM-1A gas turbines and 2 SM-1C gas turbines, with a maximum speed of 28 knots.
The weapons are 1 Mk8 14mm naval gun, 2 twin-mounted 30mm naval guns, 32-unit Seawolf ship-to-air missile vertical launcher, 2 quadruple-mounted Harpoon anti-ship missile launchers, and 2 triple-mounted 324mm torpedoes Launch tube, 2 Big Lynx Mk.8 anti-submarine helicopters.
According to the results of discussions between Colo and the Royal Navy, if they purchase two Type 23 frigates, they will be able to carry out corresponding modifications at the British Shipyard. In addition to certain system upgrades, they will also be equipped with sufficient weapons and ammunition. , plus personnel training, this arms sales order totals about US$125 million.
This price is relatively favorable, also because in the ancillary agreement of this order, the Colo Corps will receive a group of retired soldiers and officers of the Navy - these people have experience in operating Type 23 warships. And some local personnel from the Colo Corps will also be sent to England to receive relevant training to ensure that they can complete the reception of these two warships and form combat effectiveness.
After the completion of this transaction, it is expected that the two warships will be able to form combat effectiveness in half a year, that is, in March and April next year, and enter the battle sequence of the Colo Corps.
As for the relevant local personnel sent by the Colo Corps to England for training, some of them will learn along with the entire process of the transformation of the two warships, and some of them will be able to follow other Type 23 frigates in service in England. Conduct training.
Although it is difficult for the relevant sailors to complete sufficient training in the past six months, these people themselves will not directly enter the key positions of controlling the two frigates - these positions are still mainly retired personnel of the Royal Navy, and they can work in Training continues during subsequent actual navigation exercises.
In the process of reducing the size of the British Navy, it will be accompanied by the retirement of some redundant naval personnel. The placement of these personnel is also a headache for the government. This transaction with Colo not only Being able to reduce naval expenditures, reduce the number of warships, and solve the resettlement of a considerable number of personnel is still very satisfactory to the British side.
And the most important thing is that a considerable number of personnel in the Colo Corps, especially military personnel in higher positions, are from the British army.
Although Colo bought the ownership of the two warships, due to the close relationship between the two parties, in an emergency, the two warships are not unable to "cooperate" with the British Royal Navy. There are not many barriers to communication and cooperation at all.
Well, at least this can be done until local naval personnel in Kolo are qualified to enter key positions on the two frigates.
So on September 15, Colo officially signed this arms purchase agreement with Britain.
(End of this chapter)