The Spanish government concluded the Navantia F-110 frigate passed the Critical Design Review (CDR) phase, making it ready for full production, the company said on June 24.
This CDR means the ship meets capabilities requested by the Spanish Ministry of Defense.
The CDR process started last December and concluded in June following 30 technical and two plenary sessions at the company’s shipyard in Ferrol, Spain.
Notably, plenary sessions were attended by officials from the Spanish Ministry of Defense, Spanish Navy, Navantia, U.S. Navy and top level suppliers like Lockheed Martin [LMt], Indra, Thales, Ingeteam, and Ferri.
The F-110 will feature Lockheed Martin’s AN/SPY-7 S-band gallium nitride radar.
In 2017, Lockheed Martin and Indra signed an agreement extending their relationship to cooperatively develop an S-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for the F-110. It also established a framework to commercialize the radar for other international anti-air program opportunities. (Defense Daily, Dec. 1, 2017).
Navantia said the F-110 design has the highest level of technical maturity the company’s programs have ever met.
Construction of the first pilot blocks for the first of these new frigates, the F-111, began last April. Navantia said the start of manufacturing along with equipment and materials purchases “made it possible to reach the CDR with full guarantee of production work and with properly trained personnel.”
Spain has ordered five F-110 frigates that are expected to be delivered by 2032. In 2019, Spain expected the ships to cost over $4.5 billion total. The first ship will be commissioned in 2027 and the following ships will be delivered annually.
The company underscored development of this frigate design included a “significant contribution” from suppliers and collaborators in industry, leading to the program adapting new capabilities into the frigate. This includes the ship featuring a future digital twin.
It also argued the CDR milestone “boosts Navantia’s international strategy as F-110 design is now ready to be showcased to international partners.”