Is it me or thats looks like the Stealthiest-sexiest of the european Frigates..!

It’s you, but that’s ok, they are a nice design. Check out that bridge area.

Can you put in a link to where you found this on the internet?

I found this:

here

What makes you think that VL Mica is any better than Sea Wolf?

Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and discussion forum

Wouldn’t necessarily have to be better. Equal would suffice. However, it would eliminate the need for 2 radar directors, which could then be replaced by, say, 2 Phalanx CIWS. On the whole, I’ld say the T23s could then handle more targets simultanously as well as have an new last ditch inner defence layer.

WHAT FOREIGN DEPENDENCY!?!?!?

An Article from Jane’s Defence Industry

04 May 2005

US defence budget will equal ROW combined “within 12 months”

By Guy Anderson Editor of Jane’s Defence Industry

Defence expenditure in the US will equal that of the rest of the world combined within 12 months, making it “increasingly pressing” for European contractors to develop a “closer association” with the US, corporate finance group PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) says.

Its report – ‘The Defence Industry in the 21st Century’ by PwC’s global aerospace and defence leader Richard Hooke – adds that “the US is in the driving seat”, raising the prospect of a future scenario in which it could “dominate the supply of the world’s arms completely”.

The US defence budget reached US$417.4 billion in 2003 – 46 per cent of the global total.

Less than two per cent of the US defence budget is spent outside its home market, the report notes, and of this around one per cent goes to UK contractors.

Hooke says: “The message for management teams in all this – apart from the obvious for US contractors to monopolise the industry – is that they will fail to maximise value if they fail to define accurately the business segment in which they operate.

“For Europe and the UK in particular, it means, right now, an increasingly pressing need to develop a closer association with the US market.”

Doubt that it is Russian. If Chinese, the chassis is either Wanshan WS2500 (10×8), or TAS5500A (10X10, max load 28 tons, used as the chassis to carry the phased array radar of the HQ-9/FT-2000 SAM system) or TAS5570/A (10X10, max load 30 tons). I’m leaning towards the latter.

Sorry. yes it was the Sea Wolf, and I forgot about the VLS. I had heard that they were opting for Russian missiles since they had plenty of stock of them and this was a way to utalise them. Interesting that they went for the Mica’s.

Probably a relatively cheap and technically simple solution: no need for new missile directors

Romania bought the former HMS’s London and Coventry and had them re-equiped with weapons systems more familiar to them including Russian missiles, but the forward Seadart launcher was removed and a Otto-Melara 3in DP gun put in instead, makes more sence if you ask me. I had heard that Romania had also just bought a couple of SH-2G’s for use on these ships but I can’t find any confirmation on this.

You mean SEA WOLF!

Rolls-Royce has reconditioned the ships’engines and Flagship is responsible for crew training. Fleet Support Ltd has completed a demanding 13-month extensive system replacement, upgrade and installation package.

Equipment fitted as part of the upgrade includes an Oto Melara 76mm rapid-fire gun with Radamec electro-optical tracking system; AMS Nautis fire control system; BAE Systems MPS2000 communications system; Inmarsat B global maritime distress and safety system; Terma SKWS decoy system; and Sperry Marine Mark 39 ring laser gyro compass and LMX 420 global positioning system.

According to NAVY LEAGUE ( February 2003), the ships were to have their Marconi Type 967/968 search radars and Type 911 weapons-control radars replaced by more modern sensors during the refit, along with their Ferranti CACS 1 combat-management system and, probably, their electronic warfare systems. The Romanian Navy decided would not retain the BAE Seawolf point-defense missiles and replace it with the MBDA VL Mica, with two eight-cell launchers installed in place of the Type 911 trackers. The two frigates were also are scheduled to be armed with Oto Melara 76mm Super Rapid guns but it was unclear what surface-to-surface missile would be selected.

In late 2004, an ex-Royal Navy Type 22 named the Regele Ferdinand (F221)entered service. A second Type 22 was delivered in 2005, which is called the Regina Maria (F222). (! … their pennants are 22-1 and 22-2!)

HMS Sheffield (Type 22 batch 2)

Fregata “Regele Ferdinand”

Many more images here:
http://www.mapn.ro/fotodb/album05
http://www.mapn.ro/fotodb/album20
http://www.mapn.ro/fotodb/fregata

the ak-130 deployed by both vessel are quite capable when it comes AAW, they were designed primarily for the purpose. Have a rof around 84 with 130 mm projectile.

The ships of the original Udaloy class have 2 100mm single barrel AK-100 gun, each with a ROF of at least 50 rounds per minute to a max range of at least 20km (round 26.8 kg, projectile 15.6 kg)RUSARM

Range with 34 lbs. (15.6 kg) FRAG (OF-58) Shell
Max Ballistic Range 22,970 yards (21,000 m)
Range with 34 lbs. (15.6 kg) AA (ZS-58P) Shell
Max Range Against ASuW Missiles 5,470 yards (5,000 m)
Max Range Against Aircraft 10,940 yards (10,000 m)
Rate Of Fire 50 – 60 rounds per minute
Elevation -10 / +85 degrees
Rate of Elevation 30 degrees per second
Train 360 degrees
Rate of Train 35 degrees per second
Naval Weapons

The AK-130 is employed on Sovremenny, Slava, Kirov classes and on the sole Udaloy II (Admiral Chabanenko). It is a multi purpose gun and appears to have a much lower ROF then 84 RPM:

The ship’s 130mm guns are the AK-130-MR-184 supplied by the Ametist Design Bureau and the Frunze Arsenal Design Bureau in Saint Petersburg. The system includes a computer control system with electronic and television sighting. The gun can be operated in fully automatic mode from the radar control system, under autonomous control using the turret mounted Kondensor optical sighting system and can also be laid manually. Rate of fire is between 20 and 35 rounds/min.
Naval Technology

The AK-130-MR-184 Artillery System is intended to engage sea, coastal, and aerial targets, including low flying anti-ship missiles.
Firing rate, rds/min 20 … 35
Firing range, km over 22
round 53kg
projectile 33 kg
RUSARM

Range with 73.6 lbs. (33.4 kg) HE Shell
Max Ballistic Range 25,150 yards (23,000 m)
Max Range Against Missiles up to 8,750 yards (8,000 m)
Max Range Against Aircraft up to 16,400 yards (15,000 m)
Rate of fire 10 – 40 rounds per minute per gun
Elevation -12 / +80 degrees
Rate of Elevation 25 degrees per second
Train + 200 / – 200 degrees
Rate of Train 25 degrees per second Naval Weapons

IMHO, while AK-130 has better range and fires a heavier projectile, the AK-100 is superior for AD work as it has a higher ROF, greater elevation and 360 degree train, as well as faster elevation and train. Of course, this does not mean the AK-130 is useless for AD 😉