Navy Goes Shopping for Frigates
Chile's Defense Minister Alberto Espina confirmed the
Navy started looking to acquire three frigates to replace warships that have been in service since 1986. The three ships slated for retirement are the two air defense frigates — FFG-11 Almirante Prat and
FFG-14 Almirante Latorre — and the flagship
FF-19 Almirante Williams. The latter is a Type 22 frigate acquired from the British navy in 2003. The Prat and Latorre are Class L frigates that were acquired from the Netherlands in 2005 and 2006. While the Navy has bought used ships to renovate its surface fleet, Espina said Chile is looking for "new" warships. The cost of building new is many times that of buying used, so it'll be interesting if Chile goes that route. Around the turn of the century, Chile planned to build its own frigates. But the staggering cost of new ships and the availability of used but capable vessels caused the Navy to opt for bargains. In January, the Navy started
discussing plans to replace its oldest surface units. The plans also include replacing naval helicopters. The Navy has an aging fleet of Cougar anti-submarine helicopters and Dauphin light helicopters that are used for drug interdiction, sea patrols, search and rescue and other missions.
