FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1977
1977 - 0069.PDF
FLIGHT international, 8 January 1977 63 lllllll DEFENCE THE Niteroi, the first of six missile- armed frigates to be built for the Brazilian Navy, has completed trials and has been handed over. Three more are under construction by the designers, Vosper Thornycroft of Southampton, while a further two are being built in Brazilian yards. The private-venture design meets a Brazil ian requirement for a class of large frigates to patrol its long South Atlantic coastline and offshore waters. Two versions are planned—one for anti-submarine operations, the other for general patrol duties. Four of the former type and two of the latter were ordered in September 1970. Niteroi was launched in February 1974, with Defensora and Constituicao following in March 1975 and April 1976 respectively. Liberal, the fourth UK-built vessel, will be launched in the near future. Constituicao is now fitting out, as are the two ships built in Brazil. Defensora has completed weapon trials and is due to be handed over this spring. All six vessels carry a 4-5in Vickers Mk 8 general-purpose gun and a Bofors 375mm twin anti-submarine rocket launcher mounted forward; a Lynx helicopter in a hangar aft of the superstructure; twr triple Mk 32 anti submarine torpedo ,ubes; and two Seacat launchers. The anti-submarine Missile power for Brazilian Navy variants, of which Niteroi is one, has an Ikara missile system, while the general-purpose ships will carry Exo- cet plus a second Mk 8 gun mounted aft of the helicopter hangar. Flight visited Niteroi on the last day of the pre-commissioning trials to inspect the systems and armament. The fire-control and action-information systems incorporate three FM 1600B computers from Ferranti, which is responsible to Vosper Thornycroft for systems engineering and integration. The operations room has control and display consoles for the ship's sensors —a Plessey AWS-2 air-warning radar. Hollandse Signaalapparaten ZW06 navigation radar, two Selenia RTN 10X tracking radars, and ECM re ceivers and sonar systems. All six ships will have an EDO 610E hull-mounted sonar, but Niteroi and the other anti-submarine frigates also have a EDO 700E variable-depth sonar housed in a Fathom Oceanology-built "fish" towed from the stern. The weapons are also controlled from the operations room. The Seacats are controlled by one of the RTN-IOX radars, the gun by the other. The missiles are carried on two lightweight triple launchers mounted on the hangar roof. Ikara missiles are stored horizontally in the magazine (see photograph) rather than vertically, as on Royal Navy ships. Although less economical of space, horizontal storage requires less complex missile-handling equip ment. An overhead crane positions the selected missile on a carriage, which transports it tail-first through the magazine doors and into the prepara tion room. There wings and fins, kept ready for use in wall-mounted racks, are clipped into place. The carriage then carries the round through a set of spring-loaded doors and into the launcher. Olympus turbines Niteroi-class ships are propelled by a combined diesel or gas-turbine (CODOG) installation. For cruising at speeds of up to 22kt four MTU 16- cylinder diesel engines are used. For speeds of up to 30kt two Rolls-Royce Olympus TM3B gas turbines can be switched in. Even at this speed the noise and vibration levels in most parts of the ship are low. A member of the company trials team told Flight that in this respect the Niteroi class is probably Vosper Thornycroft's best design to date. The standard of accommodation for officers and ratings is high, and a big improvement over such last-generation British frigates such as the Leander class. The design of a warship is always a compromise between the space required by weapons, stores, electronics and machinery and that required for crew accommodation and welfare. The balance reached on the Niteroi has resulted in a well-armed ship which does not neglect crew com fort, reflecting great credit on both the Brazilian naval staff who drew up the requirement and the company which translated it into hardware. The missile-handling equipment in the Ikara magazine (above) is simpler than that aboard Royal Navy ships. This view of the operations room (right) shows four of the six Deccascan horizontal displays. The five vertical consoles in the background control—from left to right —the forward RTN-IOX radar, eight-inch gun, Seaccrt missile system, aft RTN-IOX, and ECM systems
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
