Almirante Juan de Borbon (F102)

History of Almirante Juan de Borbon (F102)

The Spanish state shipbuilding company Navanta has laid the hull of the Spanish Navy's most advanced frigate "Almirante Juan de Borbon" (F-102). She was launched on 28 February 2002 and commissioned on 3 December 2003.

She served as the second ship of six powerful Alvaro DeBazan-class battle missile frigates, including the lead ships Alvaro DeBazan, Blas de Lezzo, Mendes Nunes, Cristobal Cologne and Austrian Juan. Almirante Juan de Borbon is part of Spain's F-100 frigate fleet, complementing the US Aegis digital naval radar and weapons suite, greatly enhancing situational awareness and weapons control.

When completed, Juan de Borbon will displace 6,400 tons (short), have a barrel length of 481 feet, a beam of 61 feet, and a draft of 15.6 feet. As a modern ship, she no longer has a continuous main deck like the ships of the last century. Instead, her structure complements the sides of the hull to promote a better signature when cruising in open water.

Many of her structural outcrops are also included, including her main mast and smoke funnel - a common feature of modern surface ships. A single main mast overhead houses various sensors and processing systems. The lower superstructure section is attached directly to the stern amidships. Like other Navy warships, she carries a single-deck gun above the forward cabin - her primary armament is a range of missile types to protect her and any suspected target area from air, surface and underwater threats.

Her crew consisted of 250 personnel, including as many as 48 officers. The flight deck above the tail supports the launch and recovery of the Sikorsky SH-60B Seahawk (LAMPS III) naval helicopter.

In-vehicle systems are various positioning, identification and navigation aids. These include the Raytheon DE 1160LF(I) sonar system, the Lockheed Martin AN/SPY-1D 3D multifunction radar suite, the Raytheon SPS-67(V)4 surface search radar, the Thales Scout Navigation System and Aegis Combat system.

The FABA DORNA fire control system and Raytheon SPG-62 Mk 99 radar illuminators also came into play. For self-sufficiency, the ship is equipped with 4 FMC SRBOC Mk 36 flare launchers and Indra SLQ-380 Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) kits and SLQ-25A Nixie (enhanced) torpedo countermeasures kits.

Power provided by 2 Caterpillar 3600 Series Diesel Engines and 2 General Electric LM2500 Gas Turbine Engines in "CODOG" arrangement - "Combined Diesel or Gas". This arrangement combines diesel and gas engines with a single shaft for more efficient cruising and sprint speeds, using one engine system at a time. The engine drives a pair of Wartsila controllable pitch propellers.

The design can travel at 29 knots under ideal conditions and has a range of up to 4,500 nautical miles.

Standard armament is spearheaded by a Mk 45 Mod 2 1 x 5"/54 caliber deck gun above the bow. Aft is a group of 48 units of Mk 41 Vertical Launching Systems (VLSs) which will soon become their primary armament. Carry missiles ("Standard SM-2 Block IIIA" and RIM-162 "Evolution Sea Sparrow") against incoming aircraft and missiles from the air, including incoming aircraft. Midships are a pair of RGM-84 "Harpoon" anti-ship missiles Quad missile launchers. Armament is completed by 4 x 324mm Mk 32 Mod 9 double-barreled torpedo launchers with 12 rounds of heavy reloads.

Auxiliary Seahawk helicopters are used for submarine support-/anti-ship operations and reconnaissance missions on the horizon.

So far (2014), Almirante Juan de Borbon has had a rather uneventful life, carrying out various experiment-related activities while completing several maritime exercises. She is also involved in joint multinational naval operations to help build global goodwill among NATO allies while strengthening Europe's future joint naval firepower.

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