On February 6, 2020, a new warship entered the Mexican Navy. The ceremony of commissioning the frigate "Reformador" took place in the city of Salina Cruz. The frigate was built at the local naval shipyard according to the Damen SIGMA 10514 project. Frigates and corvettes of this series have been built since 2005. During this time, 10 ships were handed over to customers, and at the moment the batch size, taking into account the planned deliveries, is up to 18 ships. SIGMA 10514 ships, as well as corvettes of smaller displacement, built according to early projects, are already in service with the Indonesian, Moroccan and Mexican navies. Vietnam has also shown interest in the project since 2013, which cannot agree with Russia on the details of the contract for the purchase of two more Gepard-3.9 corvettes (project 11661E).
Technical features of the SIGMA 10514 project
All ships of the SIGMA 10514 project, like many other Damen projects, are modular and scalable. The line is represented by both corvettes of the SIGMA 9113 project (maximum length 90.7 meters) and light frigates 10514 (maximum length 105.11 meters). Several intermediate projects are also offered to customers, in which the first digits always indicate the maximum length of the ship's hull. Even a miniature high-speed corvette of the SIGMA 7513 project (speed of 34 knots) is available to customers.
Modular design is a hallmark of many Damen projects. This solution allows you to quickly scale ships, based on the requirements and financial capabilities of the customer. The basic design can be easily changed as the number of body segments can be easily reduced or increased. The frigates of the SIGMA 10514 project are currently the largest ships of the entire series. Their standard displacement is 2365 tons, full displacement is up to 2800 tons. The length of the ship is 105.11 meters, the width is 14.02 meters, the draft is 8.75 meters. The crew of the frigates of the SIGMA 10514 project consists of 122 people.
The frigates of the SIGMA 10514 project are equipped with a main power plant of a combined type, this is a diesel-electric power plant (CODOE). The installation includes two diesel engines with a capacity of 10,000 kW each, as well as two electric motors with a capacity of 1300 kW each. The ship's power plant operates on two variable pitch propellers with a diameter of 3, 65 meters. The power plant provides the ship with a maximum speed of 28 knots (approximately 52 km / h). Cruising speed - 18 knots (33 km / h). Economic speed - 14 knots (26 km / h). On electric motors, the ship can reach speeds of up to 15 knots. When driving at a speed of 14 knots, the cruising range reaches 5000 nautical miles (approximately 9300 km). The autonomy of sailing in terms of food and water reserves is up to 20 days.
Combat capabilities of frigates SIGMA 10514
The composition of the weapons of the warships of the SIGMA 10514 project varies depending on the customer country. At the same time, the ships carry anti-ship missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, artillery weapons and torpedo tubes. Despite the fact that the ship "Reformador" (Reformer) officially entered the composition of the Mexican fleet as a long-range ocean patrol ship, in fact, it is a lightweight frigate with a full complement of weapons, allowing you to fight all types of sea, air and ground targets.
The main armament of the ships is anti-ship missiles. The standard version provides for the placement on board of two launchers for 4 missiles each. At the same time, on the delivered ships, it is possible to install one launcher for four missiles and two for two. The missiles used vary depending on the wishes of the customer. So on the frigate, which was accepted into the Mexican Navy, they installed two launchers for two missiles each. If necessary, the composition of weapons can be easily expanded to 8 anti-ship missiles. All missile and artillery weapons, as well as torpedoes, Mexico acquired in the United States. Thus, 4 Boeing RGM-84L Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles will be installed on the Reformador. This subsonic missile develops a speed of up to 850 km / h and is able to hit targets at a distance of up to 278 km. The mass of the missile warhead is about 220 kg. In turn, the Indonesian light frigates of the SIGMA 10514 project are armed with 8 MBDA Exocet MM40 Block 3 anti-ship missiles, the maximum flight range of which reaches 180 km.
The ship's air defense is presented in the standard version with a 12-round vertical launcher for anti-aircraft guided missiles of the MBDA MICA VL complex. These are short-range missiles capable of effectively hitting air targets at a distance of 1 to 20 km. It is these French missiles that are installed on the Indonesian frigates. On the Mexican "Reformador", the composition of the air defense weapons has been improved. The ship has an 8-round vertical launcher for medium-range missiles Raytheon ESSM (range for hitting air targets - up to 50 km), as well as a 21-charge launcher for short-range missiles Raytheon RAM Block II (range for hitting air targets up to 10 km).
The standard artillery armament of the SIGMA 10514 frigates is represented by the 76-mm Leonardo (Oto Melara) Super Rapid artillery mount, which has a rate of fire of up to 120 rounds per minute and can be used for firing at coastal, surface and air targets. In addition, the standard equipment includes two 20 mm Denel GI-2 automatic cannons and one 35 mm Rheinmetall Oerlikon Millennium Gun artillery mount, which is primarily used to provide the ship's air defense. The maximum rate of fire of the installation reaches 1000 rounds per minute in the automatic fire mode, while the ammunition of the installation of 252 shells, according to calculations, is enough to destroy 10 anti-ship missiles.
The composition of the artillery armament of the Mexican frigate "Reformador" of the SIGMA 10514 project is different. The main caliber of the frigate is the 57-mm universal artillery mount BAE Systems Bofors Mk 3. The rate of fire is up to 220 rounds per minute, the firing range of conventional shells is up to 13,800 m. The ship also has a 25-mm automatic gun BAE Systems Mk38 Mod 3 and six large-caliber 12.7 mm machine guns M2.
The frigates' torpedo armament is represented by two 324-mm three-pipe torpedo tubes. The Indonesian frigates use torpedoes manufactured by EuroTorp, the Mexican American anti-submarine torpedoes Raytheon Mk 54 Mod 0. Also, the ships have a covered hangar to accommodate one helicopter weighing up to 10 tons. It is possible to use helicopters Eurocopter AS565 Panther or Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk. Helicopters can be used in anti-submarine or anti-ship versions, which also improves the combat capabilities of the ship.
Export potential of the Dutch frigate SIGMA 10514
The Damen Group is now one of the flagships of the Dutch industry. The company specializes primarily in shipbuilding, both military and civil. Damen Shipyards Group is an international company with business in 120 countries and with 50 shipyards, related companies and repair shops around the world. In addition, the company assembles ships at partner shipyards. In total, the Damen Shipyards Group delivers approximately 150 new ships to its customers per year.
The light frigate SIGMA 10514 actively participates in international tenders, interest in the ship is shown primarily by countries that are not ready to spend huge amounts of money on the fleet, but are ready to have several modern ships in the Navy, which can be effectively used as patrol vessels, and if necessary and full-fledged combat units. Currently, the main operator of the ships of this project is the Indonesian Navy. The Indonesian fleet is armed with 4 corvettes of the SIGMA 9113 project and 2 light frigates SIGMA 10514. The Moroccan Navy has two light frigates SIGMA 9813 and one SIGMA 10513. Another frigate of the SIGMA 10514 project has already received the Mexican fleet.
It is known that Vietnam has been showing interest in ships of this type since 2013. Initially, the Vietnamese military considered buying the SIGMA 9814 frigates, but the deal was canceled. After that, their interest was concentrated on the updated project SIGMA 10514. At present, the most modern ships of the Vietnamese Navy are Project 11661E patrol missile ships purchased in Russia. Currently, the parties are negotiating the supply of two more similar corvettes, the issue of the composition and quantity of weapons and power plant is being resolved. The problem is that the engines for the ships previously supplied to Vietnam were supplied by the Ukrainian manufacturer Zorya-Mashproekt.
If Moscow and Hanoi cannot agree on the supply of two ships of the Gepard-3.9 (11661E) project, which is unlikely, given that the Vietnamese Navy already operates four ships of this type and has a well-established cooperation scheme, Vietnam can apply at the services of the Dutch company Damen. At the same time, there is a possibility that Vietnam will order light frigates SIGMA 10514 even if Russia acquires two new corvettes. The ships have comparable technical characteristics and combat capabilities, while the Dutch ships are distinguished by a large displacement.
