The Horizon class (French: Classe Horizon; Italian: Classe Orizzonte) is a class of air-defencedestroyers in service with the French and Italian navies. They are designated as destroyers by the Italians[7] and using NATO classification but are referred to as "frigates" by the French. The programme started as the Common New Generation Frigate (CNGF), a three-nation collaboration between France, the United Kingdom, and Italy to develop a new generation of air-defence warships.[8] Differing national requirements, workshare disagreements and delays led to the UK withdrawing from the project in 1999 to develop the Type 45 destroyer.[9]
French destroyer Forbin, lead ship of the Horizon class
Problems emerged almost immediately. The primary problem was that of differing requirements: France wanted anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) escorts for its aircraft carriers, but only a limited range was necessary due to the self-defence capability of the French Charles de Gaulle. Italy too required only close-range capabilities, as in its home waters of the Mediterranean Sea the ships would operate under Italian Air Force cover or escorts for its aircraft carrier Cavour. The Royal Navy, however, required more capable ships which could throw a large defensive "bubble" over a fleet operating in hostile areas.[12] The compromise that largely solved this problem was the adoption of a standard radar interface, which allowed France and Italy to install the EMPAR multi-function passive electronically scanned array radar and the UK to install the more capable SAMPSONactive electronically scanned array radar—the SAMPSON radar has a higher data rate and an adaptive beam that allows a greater ability to track multiple targets, long-range detection of low-RCS targets, a lower false-alarm rate, and overall higher tracking accuracy.[13]
In March 1996, it was agreed that the PAAMS office would be based in Paris, and the Project Horizon project office would be based in London. The latter was to be responsible for the design of the ship, its command and control, and secondary weapons systems. Britain also agreed to contribute £100m in recognition of the development work already completed by Italy and France on PAAMS.[11] Construction would be carried out by DCN (France), GEC-Marconi (UK), and Orizzonte (Italy).[11]
UK withdrawal
On 26 April 1999, the UK announced that it was withdrawing from the CNGF project to pursue its own national design. At this point, the CNGF project was five years behind schedule.[14] The Financial Times summarised the main disagreements between the partner countries:[15]
Vessel size - As noted above, the UK's requirements were out of step with the those of France and Italy. An agreement was reached but the Financial Times reported that the issue "never entirely [went] away."
Capability - The UK wanted the ships with a wide-area defence capability due to its experience in the Falklands War.
Industrial structure - The UK tried to use its larger requirement to exert influence; the UK's desire to see Marconi appointed as prime contractor was accepted by France, but only in return for DCN being given the role as prime contractor for the combat management system. The UK, which wished to see a British Aerospace-led consortium given this role, would not accept this.
The resulting Type 45 destroyer is armed with the PAAMS missile system and has benefited from investment in the Horizon project.
Franco-Italian project
Italian Caio Duilio
France and Italy continued their collaboration under the Horizon project. In September 2000, the two countries signed a contract to jointly produce four ships, ordering two ships each which would deploy the PAAMS missile system.[16] The Italian Navy ordered two units, Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio, to replace the Audace class. Andrea Doria was accepted on 22 December 2007 and received the flag of the Italian Navy. Full operation capability was achieved in the summer of 2008. The French Navy ordered two units, Forbin and Chevalier Paul, to replace the Suffren-class carrier escorts. The project cost France €2.16bn (~US$3bn) at 2009 prices.[1] A further two Horizons were cancelled; instead, the two Cassard-class frigates were to be replaced by the FREDA air-defence variant of the Franco-Italian FREMM multipurpose frigate (later known as Alsace and Lorraine). France bought 40 Aster 15 and 80 Aster 30 missiles for their ships.[1] On the Italian units, the three cannons will be upgraded to the 76 mm/62 Super Rapid Multi Feeding David/Strales version with the capacity to use the DART guided projectile in the anti-missile role.[17]
^. naval-technology.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
^Nicoll, Alexander (27 April 1999). "National differences scupper frigate project". Financial Times.
^"Project to build warship agreed". Financial Times. London. 17 July 1993.
^ abcGray, Bernard (23 March 1996). "Britain, France and Italy agree £7bn frigate deal". Financial Times. London.
^Gray, Bernard (23 March 1996). "Eurofrigate planned for a new world of regional conflicts". Financial Times. London.
^Dranidis, Dimitris V. (May 2003). "Backboards of the fleet: shipboard phased-array radars; a survey of requirements, technologies, and operational systems". Journal of Electronic Defense. 26 (5): 55.
^Nicoll, Alexander; Owen, David (27 April 1999). "European warship project collapses as UK withdraws". Financial Times. London.
^Nicoll, Alexander (27 April 1999). "National differences scupper frigate project". Financial Times.
^. Defense Daily. 26 September 2000. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015 – via HighBeam Research.
^(PDF). OTO Melara. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Classe Horizon.
(in Italian) Programma Orizzonte – Marina Militare specifications and pictures
(in English) Specification, history and photo of Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio
(in English) The FREMM program for the Italian Navy is now complete
horizon, class, frigate, horizon, class, french, classe, horizon, italian, classe, orizzonte, class, defence, destroyers, service, with, french, italian, navies, they, designated, destroyers, italians, using, nato, classification, referred, frigates, french, p. The Horizon class French Classe Horizon Italian Classe Orizzonte is a class of air defence destroyers in service with the French and Italian navies They are designated as destroyers by the Italians 7 and using NATO classification but are referred to as frigates by the French The programme started as the Common New Generation Frigate CNGF a three nation collaboration between France the United Kingdom and Italy to develop a new generation of air defence warships 8 Differing national requirements workshare disagreements and delays led to the UK withdrawing from the project in 1999 to develop the Type 45 destroyer 9 French destroyer Forbin lead ship of the Horizon classClass overviewNameHorizon classBuildersHorizon Sas DCNS Thales Fincantieri Finmeccanica Leonardo Finmeccanica since 2016 Leonardo since 2017Operators French Navy Italian NavyPreceded bySuffren class France Durand de la Penne class Italy CostFrance 1 08 billion per unit FY 2013 1 Italy 1 5 billion per unit FY 2016 Built2002 2007In serviceSince 2008In commissionSince 2007Planned8Completed4Cancelled4Active4General characteristicsTypeDestroyerDisplacement7 050 t 6 940 long tons 7 770 short tons full load 2 5 290 t 5 206 long tons 5 831 short tons light displacementLength152 87 m 501 ft 7 in LOA 141 7 m 465 ft LPPBeam20 3 m 67 ft Draught5 4 m 18 ft depth 11 8 m 39 ft PropulsionCODOG scheme 2 GE Avio General Electric LM2500Plus TAG 20 500 kW 27 491 hp each 2 diesel engines SEMT Pielstick 12PA6 STC 4 320 kW 5 793 hp each 4 diesel engine generators Isotta Fraschini V1716T2ME 1 600 kW 2 146 hp each 2 shaft 1 bow thrusterSpeedIn excess of 29 knots 54 km h 33 mph 6 Range6 100 nautical miles 11 000 km at 18 kn 33 km h 3 500 nmi 6 480 km at 25 knots 46 km h ComplementItalia 255 in 1 2 or 4 beds for cabinCrewItalia 236 of which 195 based crew 13 flight staff 18 othersSensors and processing systemsSelex ES EMPAR Phased array G band multi purpose radar BAE Thales Group S1850M long range radar Thales Group UMS 4110 CL sonar Only Italian units surface search radar in E F band Selex RAN 30X I RASS Selex ES IFF SIR R S GEM Elettronica navigation radar AN SPN753 V 4 2 Selex ES RTN 30X fire direction radar Sagem IRST Vampir MB IRAS Electronic warfare amp decoysElettronica Spa 4100 Nettuno SIGEN EW 2 OTO Melara ODLS H decoy launching system 2 SLAT anti torpedo systemArmamentAnti air missiles PAAMS air defence system A 48 cell A50 Sylver Vertical Launching System for a mix of up to 48 Aster 15 missiles range 1 7 30 km Aster 30 missiles range 3 120 km Anti ship missiles 8 Exocet MM40 Block 3 France 8 TESEO Mk 2 A Italy Guns amp CIWS 2 OTO Melara 76 mm Super Rapid guns France 3 OTO Melara 76 mm Super Rapid guns with Davide Strales system Italy 1 Sadral Mistral CIWS for but not with France 3 4 2 OTO Melara 25 80 gun with Oerlikon KBA 25mm Italy or 3 20 mm Narwhal remotely operated guns France 5 Italy 2 LRAD Sitep MS 424Anti submarine warfare 2 WASS B515 1 single torpedo tubes for MU90 Impact with 24 torpedoes stored Aircraft carried1 AW 101 or SH90AAviation facilitiesFlight deck 24 8 m 16 0 m 81 4 ft 52 5 ft Hangar for one AW 101 or NH90 CaimanThe FREMM multipurpose frigate were built using the same company structure as the Horizon project Contents 1 Development 1 1 UK withdrawal 1 2 Franco Italian project 2 Ships 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksDevelopment EditFurther information NFR 90 France Italy and the UK issued a joint requirement in 1992 after the failure of the NATO Frigate Replacement for the 90s NFR 90 project In July 1993 the three countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a Common New Generation Frigate CNGF 10 The ships were to be armed with the Principal Anti Air Missile System PAAMS The UK intended to purchase twelve ships to replace its Type 42 destroyers France was to purchase four to replace its Suffren class and Italy would purchase six to replace its Andrea Doria and Audace class ships 11 Problems emerged almost immediately The primary problem was that of differing requirements France wanted anti aircraft warfare AAW escorts for its aircraft carriers but only a limited range was necessary due to the self defence capability of the French Charles de Gaulle Italy too required only close range capabilities as in its home waters of the Mediterranean Sea the ships would operate under Italian Air Force cover or escorts for its aircraft carrier Cavour The Royal Navy however required more capable ships which could throw a large defensive bubble over a fleet operating in hostile areas 12 The compromise that largely solved this problem was the adoption of a standard radar interface which allowed France and Italy to install the EMPAR multi function passive electronically scanned array radar and the UK to install the more capable SAMPSON active electronically scanned array radar the SAMPSON radar has a higher data rate and an adaptive beam that allows a greater ability to track multiple targets long range detection of low RCS targets a lower false alarm rate and overall higher tracking accuracy 13 In March 1996 it was agreed that the PAAMS office would be based in Paris and the Project Horizon project office would be based in London The latter was to be responsible for the design of the ship its command and control and secondary weapons systems Britain also agreed to contribute 100m in recognition of the development work already completed by Italy and France on PAAMS 11 Construction would be carried out by DCN France GEC Marconi UK and Orizzonte Italy 11 UK withdrawal Edit On 26 April 1999 the UK announced that it was withdrawing from the CNGF project to pursue its own national design At this point the CNGF project was five years behind schedule 14 The Financial Times summarised the main disagreements between the partner countries 15 Vessel size As noted above the UK s requirements were out of step with the those of France and Italy An agreement was reached but the Financial Times reported that the issue never entirely went away Capability The UK wanted the ships with a wide area defence capability due to its experience in the Falklands War Industrial structure The UK tried to use its larger requirement to exert influence the UK s desire to see Marconi appointed as prime contractor was accepted by France but only in return for DCN being given the role as prime contractor for the combat management system The UK which wished to see a British Aerospace led consortium given this role would not accept this The resulting Type 45 destroyer is armed with the PAAMS missile system and has benefited from investment in the Horizon project Franco Italian project Edit Italian Caio Duilio France and Italy continued their collaboration under the Horizon project In September 2000 the two countries signed a contract to jointly produce four ships ordering two ships each which would deploy the PAAMS missile system 16 The Italian Navy ordered two units Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio to replace the Audace class Andrea Doria was accepted on 22 December 2007 and received the flag of the Italian Navy Full operation capability was achieved in the summer of 2008 The French Navy ordered two units Forbin and Chevalier Paul to replace the Suffren class carrier escorts The project cost France 2 16bn US 3bn at 2009 prices 1 A further two Horizons were cancelled instead the two Cassard class frigates were to be replaced by the FREDA air defence variant of the Franco Italian FREMM multipurpose frigate later known as Alsace and Lorraine France bought 40 Aster 15 and 80 Aster 30 missiles for their ships 1 On the Italian units the three cannons will be upgraded to the 76 mm 62 Super Rapid Multi Feeding David Strales version with the capacity to use the DART guided projectile in the anti missile role 17 Ships EditName Pennantnumber Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Status Motto French NavyForbin D620 DCNSLorient 4 April 2002 10 March 2005 December 2008 In service Opra Sac Di Sou KraamChevalier Paul D621 23 October 2003 12 July 2006 June 2009 In service Oser et Vaincre Italian NavyAndrea Doria D 553 FincantieriRiva Trigosoand Muggiano La Spezia 19 July 2002 15 October 2005 22 December 2007 In service Altius TendamCaio Duilio D 554 19 September 2003 23 October 2007 3 April 2009 In service Nomen numenSee also EditArleigh Burke class destroyer Kolkata class destroyer Atago class destroyer Sejong the Great class destroyer Type 052D destroyerReferences Edit a b c Projet de loi de finances pour 2013 Defense equipement des forces in French Senate of France 22 November 2012 Archived from the original on 26 March 2013 Retrieved 1 June 2015 Project Horizon Globalsecurity org Archived from the original on 22 September 2015 Retrieved 1 June 2015 Fregate Forbin in French Alabordache fr Archived from the original on 13 January 2015 Retrieved 1 June 2015 Fregate Chevalier Paul in French Alabordache fr Archived from the original on 14 October 2014 Retrieved 1 June 2015 Narwhal Deux nouveaux batiments francais equipes June 2018 Forbin D620 in French Marine Nationale Archived from the original on 31 May 2015 Retrieved 1 June 2015 Destroyer Marina Militare Horizon Class naval technology com Archived from the original on 16 March 2015 Retrieved 1 June 2015 Nicoll Alexander 27 April 1999 National differences scupper frigate project Financial Times Project to build warship agreed Financial Times London 17 July 1993 a b c Gray Bernard 23 March 1996 Britain France and Italy agree 7bn frigate deal Financial Times London Gray Bernard 23 March 1996 Eurofrigate planned for a new world of regional conflicts Financial Times London Dranidis Dimitris V May 2003 Backboards of the fleet shipboard phased array radars a survey of requirements technologies and operational systems Journal of Electronic Defense 26 5 55 Nicoll Alexander Owen David 27 April 1999 European warship project collapses as UK withdraws Financial Times London Nicoll Alexander 27 April 1999 National differences scupper frigate project Financial Times France Italy Sign Agreement To Design Build Four Horizon Frigates Defense Daily 26 September 2000 Archived from the original on 24 September 2015 Retrieved 9 August 2015 via HighBeam Research Strales Guidance System for 76mm and DART Ammunition PDF OTO Melara Archived from the original PDF on 16 August 2016 Retrieved 29 July 2016 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Classe Horizon in Italian Programma Orizzonte Marina Militare specifications and pictures in English Specification history and photo of Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio in English The FREMM program for the Italian Navy is now completePortals Italy France Engineering Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Horizon class frigate amp oldid 1128519489, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
