Following on from Spain’s Council of Ministers giving the go-ahead for the mid-life upgrade (MLU) of the navy’s five F100 frigates in November last year, the US State Department has approved a US$1.7 billion package to modernise the fleet under a foreign military sale (FMS).
Enhancing air defence capabilities, improving the vessels’ electronic warfare and command systems, upgrading missile launch systems and enabling enhanced detection and tracking with new radar systems formed the core of the frigate upgrade programme in the FMS.
Five new Aegis Weapon Systems (AWS) are set to be procured from the US under the deal; one