Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate

Template:Infobox Ship Class The Oliver Hazard Perry class of frigates were designed in the United States and have been built in the US, Spain, Australia and Taiwan since 1975. They were designed as general-purpose escort vessels, capable of most naval operations, yet cheap enough to be bought in large quantities to replace World War II-era destroyers. In addition to the United States Navy, the class is or has been used by the navies of Bahrain, Egypt, Poland and Turkey. In 2007, Pakistan was reported to have ordered six ships of the class.

They are named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry.

Ships

File:ORP Kosciuszko2.jpg

Seasprite Landing on ORP Generał Tadeusz Kościuszko Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate.

The ships were designed by Maine shipyard Bath Iron Works in partnership with New York-based naval architects Gibbs & Cox.

FFG-7 (often pronounced "fig-seven") class ships were produced in 445-foot (136 m) "short-hull" (Flight I) and 453-foot (138 m) "long-hull" (Flight III) variants. The long-hull ships (FFG 8, 28, 29, 32, 33, 36-61) carry the SH-60 Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters, while the short-hull units carry the less-capable SH-2 Seasprite. The principal difference between the versions is the location of the aft capstan; on long-hull ships, it sits a step below the level of the flight deck in order to clear the tail rotor of the longer Seahawk helicopter. Long-hull ships also carry the RAST (Recovery Assist Securing and Traversing) system for the SH-60, a variant of a hook and winch that could reel in a Seahawk in flight, expanding the pitch and roll envelope in which flight operations were permitted. FFG 8, 29, 32, and 33 were built as short-hull ships but later modified into long-hull ships.

U.S. yards constructed FFG-7-class ships for the United States and Australia. Early U.S.-built Australian ships were originally of the short-hull type and modified in the 1980s to the long-hull standard. Yards in Australia, Spain, and Taiwan have produced variants of the long-hull design for their navies.

Although costs rose dramatically over the production run, all 50 ships planned for the USN were eventually built. Some Perry-class vessels are slated to remain in U.S. service for years, but many have been decommissioned. Some of these have been transferred to foreign countries, including Bahrain, Egypt, Poland, and Turkey; several have replaced modernized World War II destroyers again - the same ex-U.S. ships transferred abroad in the 1970s and 1980s.

Upgrades

United States

The United States' active long-hull Perrys are being modified to reduce operating costs. The Detroit Diesel electrical generators are being replaced with modern Caterpillar units and the forward Mk 13 single arm missile launcher is being removed because the missile it is meant to fire, the Standard SM-1MR, has outlived its service life. It would be costly to refit the SM-1MRs, which have marginal ability to bring down sea-skimming missiles. (One of the other reasons for the withdrawal is to conserve what little support remains for the SM-1MR, which is still used by countries such as Poland and Taiwan, for US allies that need it most.) With the removal of the Mk13 launcher the Perry FFG also loses Harpoon capability (although its SH-60 Seahawk helicopter complement can carry shorter-ranged Penguin anti-ship missiles) and their "zone-defense" AAW capability, and are reduced to a "point-defense" type of AAW armament. The Perrys had never been primarily AAW ships to begin with; the primary AAW ships of the US Navy are the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers.

The US Navy plans to update the Perrys’ CIWS to Block 1B, which will allow the Mk 15 20mm Phalanx gun to shoot fast-moving surface craft and helicopters. The FFGs are also to be fitted with the Mk 53 DLS Nulka missile decoy system, which will be better than the chaff and flares at guarding against anti-ship missiles. It is also rumored that the Mk 75 76mm gun is to be removed^{[citation needed]}. That would strip the ship of all offensive weapons except its two triple-tube torpedo launchers and the torpedoes and missiles aboard its SH-60 helicopters.

Australia

As part of a major programme of improvements, a AU$1 billion upgrade project for the Adelaide class is in progress, which will see enhancements to both weapons and equipment. The costs of the project will be partly offset by the decommissioning of the two oldest units, with Canberra paying off in 2005 and Adelaide due to be paid off in 2007. The first upgraded vessel, Sydney, returned to the fleet in 2005. Some of the new features include the ability to fire the SM-2 version of Standard, an 8 cell Mk 41 VLS for Evolved Sea Sparrow and enhanced air search radar and long range sonar. Each unit to be upgraded will do so at Garden Island in Sydney, with the modifications taking between 18 months and two years. The ships will be replaced starting in 2013 by three new air defence destroyers equipped with the Aegis combat system.

Baptism by fire

Perry-class frigates made the news twice during the 1980s. Despite being small, these frigates were shown to be extremely durable. The Persian Gulf was a dangerous place to be during the Iran-Iraq War, and on 17 May 1987, USS Stark was attacked, apparently accidentally, by an Iraqi warplane. Struck by two Exocet antiship missiles, thirty-seven American sailors died in the deadly prelude to the U.S.'s Operation Earnest Will, the reflagging and escorting of oil tankers through the Persian Gulf. Less than a year later, on 14 April 1988, the frigate Samuel B. Roberts was nearly sunk by an Iranian mine. No lives were lost, but 10 sailors were medevaced from the ship. The U.S. retaliated four days later with Operation Praying Mantis, a one-day attack on Iranian oil platforms being used as bases for raids on merchant shipping, which included the minelaying operations that damaged the Roberts. Both frigates were repaired in U.S. yards and returned to service.

Operators

Australia: Adelaide class
Bahrain
Egypt
Poland
Republic of China: Cheng Kung class
Spain: Santa Maria class
Turkey: G class
United States