HMS Formidable (Type 31 frigate)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Formidable.

HMS Formidable is a Type 31 frigate of the Royal Navy and the sixth vessel named after the word formidable.^[7] In May 2021, the names of the five planned Type 31 ships were announced by the First Sea Lord. The names were selected to represent key themes that represent the future plans of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines - forward deployment of ships overseas; operating in the North Atlantic; carrier operations; technology and innovation; and the Future Commando Force.

History
United Kingdom
Name	Formidable
Namesake	HMS Formidable (67)
Builder	Babcock International,^[1] Rosyth
Status	Planned
General characteristics
Class and type	Type 31 frigate
Displacement	5,700 t (5,600 long tons)
Length	138.7 m (455 ft 1 in)
Installed power	4 × Rolls Royce/MTU 20V 8000 M71 (8.2 MW) diesel engines^[6] 4 × Rolls Royce/MTU 16V 2000 M41B (900 kW) generators
Propulsion	MAN Alpha VBS Mk 5 CP propeller, two shafts, CODAD^[2]
Speed	In excess of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Endurance	9,000 nmi (17,000 km; 10,000 mi)
Complement	80–100 (accommodation for up to 160)
Sensors and processing systems	TACTICOS combat management system, Thales NS110 3D radar, Raytheon Warship Integrated Navigation and Bridge System, Terma Scanter and Raytheon NSX navigation radars, 2 Mirador Mk2 EOS, Viasat Ultrahigh-frequency satellite communications^[3]
Electronic warfare & decoys	Vigile-D ESM
Armament	Missiles: 32 Mark 41 VLS for various missiles including Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon^[4] and Sea Ceptor anti-air missiles^[5] Guns: 1 × 57 mm Mk 110 main gun 2 × 40 mm Mk 4 secondary guns 4 × 7.62 mm General purpose machine guns
Aircraft carried	1 × Wildcat, or 1 × Merlin,
Aviation facilities	Helicopter hangar and flight deck
Notes	Mission bay under flight deck for 6 TEUs. 3 boat bays for RHIBs and USVs/UUVs.

Formidable, named after the World War II-era aircraft carrier HMS Formidable (67), represents carrier operations. Formidable took part in the Battle of Cape Matapan, Operation Torch, attacked the German battleship Tirpitz, and fought against Japan in the Pacific theatre.^[8] The plan for the Type 31 project envisages all five units of the class being in service by February 2030.^[9]

References

1. "Babcock Team 31 selected as preferred bidder for UK Type 31 frigate programme". babcockinternational. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
2. "MAN to supply propulsion for Royal Navy frigates". 27 April 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
3. Chuter, Andrew (3 November 2020). "Viasat to supply Britain's future frigate with satellite communications tech". defensenews.com. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
4. "Royal Navy's Type 31 frigates to be fitted with Mk41 vertical launch system". Navy Lookout. 17 May 2023.
5. Childs, Nick (7 October 2019). "UK's naval balancing act: getting the Type-31 frigate right". iiss.org/. IISS. Retrieved 1 October 2020. as well as up to 24 MBDA Sea Ceptor local-area air-defence missiles
6. "Rolls-Royce Seals Propulsion Systems Contract For Royal Navy's Type 31 Frigates". 29 May 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
7. "Ships to inspire – names of Type 31 frigates revealed". Royal Navy. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
8. "Royal Navy's Type 31 frigates have names; HMS Active recalls her predecessor and Falklands liberation". MercoPress. 19 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
9. "Royal Navy formally announces the names of the 'inspiration class' Type 31 frigates". Navy Lookout. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.