Type 31 Inspiration class Frigate GPFF Royal Navy

United Kingdom - Royal Navy
Inspiration Type 31 (Inspiration) class Frigate

type 31 inspiration class frigate gpff royal navy babcock sea ceptor camm missile sam bae bofors merlin wildcat helicopter 02

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Ships:

HMS Active
HMS Bulldog
HMS Formidable
HMS Venturer
HMS Campbeltown

Specifications:

Builder: Babcock International, Rosyth, Scotland, UK

Length: 138.7 meters (455 ft)
Beam: 19.8 m (65 ft)
Draft: ?
Displacement: 5700 tonnes
Speed: 28+ knots (52+ km/h)
Range: 7500 NM (14000 km)
Complement: 105 ship (accommodation for up to 160)

Propulsion:
CODAD (combined Diesel and Diesel)
4 x Rolls Royce/MTU 20V 8000 M71 (8.2 MW) diesel engines
4 x Rolls Royce/MTU 16V 2000 M41B (900 KW) generators
2 shafts / 2 controllable-pitch propellers

Armament:
Mk.41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) - 32 cells
for
Sea Ceptor / CAMM SAM Missiles
Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon (FC/ASW)
BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile

- - - - -

1 x BAE Mk.110 (57mm/70-caliber) gun
2 x BAE Bofors 40 Mk.4 40mm guns
4 x M134 Miniguns

Aviation:
flight deck and hangar for 1 helicopter
(AgustaWestland Wildcat HMA2 or Merlin HM2)

Systems:
Thales TACTICOS combat management system
Thales NS110 3D air and surface surveillance radar
Thales Artemis 360 Naval InfraRed search and track system
Raytheon Warship Integrated Navigation and Bridge System
Terma Scanter and Raytheon NSX navigation radars
Thales Mirador Mk2 EOS (electro-optical tracking system)
Viasat Ultrahigh-frequency satellite communications
Thales Vigile-D ESM System
Maritime Electronic Warfare Systems Integrated Capability (MEWSIC)
SEA Ancilia trainable decoy launcher system
Ultra Electronics Surface Ship Torpedo Defence (SSTD)

The Type 31 frigate, also known as the Inspiration class, and formerly known as the Type 31e frigate or General Purpose Frigate (GPF), is a class of five frigates being built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The Type 31 is intended to enter service in the 2020s alongside the eight submarine-hunting Type 26 frigate and will replace the five general-purpose Type 23 frigates.

Designed by Babcock International, it is based on the Odense Maritime Technology (OMT) Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate hull and is marketed under the name Arrowhead 140.

Development:
The 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) authorised the Global Combat Ship (GCS) programme, which would replace the Royal Navy's thirteen Type 23 frigates. Earlier that year, BAE Systems was awarded a four-year, £127 million contract by the Ministry of Defence to design the new class. It was planned that two variants of the class would be built: five general purpose frigates and eight anti-submarine warfare frigates. There was to be little difference between the two variants, except for the Sonar 2087. Initial expectations were that construction would start in 2016 and the ships would gradually replace the Type 23 frigates by the mid-2030s. The 2015 Defence Review decided that only the eight anti-submarine warfare Type 26 frigates would be ordered and five general purpose frigates to an altogether different design would be ordered to give at least 13 frigates in RN service.

HMS Venturer - steel cut in 2021
HMS Venturer - keel laying 2022
HMS Active - steel cut in 2023
HMS Active - keel laying 2023
HMS Formidable - steel cut in 2024

images

type 31 inspiration class frigate gpff royal navy babcock hms active bulldog formidable venturer campbeltown 08

design images

type 31 inspiration class frigate gpff royal navy babcock hms active bulldog formidable venturer campbeltown 06

type 31 inspiration class frigate gpff royal navy babcock hms active bulldog formidable venturer campbeltown 07

type 31 inspiration class frigate gpff royal navy babcock hms active bulldog formidable venturer campbeltown 09

type 31 inspiration class frigate gpff royal navy babcock sea ceptor camm sam hms active bulldog formidable venturer campbeltown 05

construction images

type 31 inspiration class frigate gpff royal navy babcock hms active construction 11

type 31 inspiration class frigate gpff royal navy babcock hms active bulldog formidable venturer campbeltown 10

type 31 inspiration class frigate gpff royal navy babcock construction 12

hms venturer crest insignia patch type 31 inspiration class frigate royal navy

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