$1.7B Contract to Upgrade Horizon-class Frigates
OCCAR (Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation) awarded Naviris and Eurosam a contract for the mid-life upgrade (MLU) of the Italian and French Horizon-class frigates. The two co-contractors, Naviris and Eurosam, will work in close collaboration with their shareholders, Fincantieri and Naval Group for the frigate, MBDA Italia, MBDA France and Thales for the new generation of the Principal Anti-Air Missile System & Long-Range Radar (PAAMS & LRR).
The value of the contract for Naviris and eurosam is $1.7B. More specifically, in the coming days Naviris will finalize the subcontract contracts, including the one with Fincantieri, which will have a value of $233 million.
With this upgrade, Horizon-class frigates will receive state-of-the-art whole-ship modernization and enhanced combat capabilities, with new weapon systems and related command and control and electronic warfare suites. For anti-aircraft warfare, the new generation of PAAMS & LRR (Principal Anti-Air Missile System & Long-Range Radar) is a significant upgrade and the system will be able to defeat next decade threats such as missiles (hypersonic, ballistic , supersonic sea-skimmers, high velocity cruises), UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and highly maneuverable aircraft, in a saturation attack scenario.
The 7,300-ton Horizon Frigates measure 153 x 20.3m and can carry 210 people. They were built between 2000 and 2010 as part of a joint program between Fincantieri and the Naval Group. They have a range of 7,000 nautical miles at 18 knots, with a maximum speed of 29 knots.