Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate
The "Oliver Hazard Perry" class is a class of guided-missile frigates named after the U.S. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the naval Battle of Lake Erie. Also known as the "Perry" or FFG-7 (commonly "fig seven") class, the warships were designed in the United States in the mid-1970s as general-purpose escort vessels inexpensive enough to be bought in large numbers to replace World War II-era destroyers and complement 1960s-era s. In Admiral Elmo Zumwalt's "high low fleet plan", the FFG-7s were the low capability ships with the s  serving as the high capability ships. Intended to protect amphibious landing forces, supply and replenishment groups, and merchant convoys from aircraft and submarines. They were also later part of battleship-centred surface action groups and aircraft carrier battle groups/strike groups. Fifty-five ships were built in the United States: 51 for the United States Navy and four for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). In addition, eight were built in Taiwan, six in Spain, and two in Australia for their navies. Former U.S. Navy warships of this class have been sold or donated to the navies of Bahrain, Egypt, Poland , Pakistan, Taiwan, and Turkey. The first of the 51 U.S. Navy built "Oliver Hazard Perry" frigates entered into service in 1977, and the last remaining in active service, , was decommissioned on 29 September 2015. The retired vessels were either mothballed or transferred to other navies for continued service. Some of the U.S. Navy's frigates, such as USS "Duncan" (14.6 years in service) had fairly short careers, while a few lasted as long as 30+ years in active U.S. service, with some lasting even longer after being sold or donated to other navies. In 2020, the Navy announced the  new as their latest class of frigates. Design and construction. The ships were designed by the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Maine in partnership with the New York-based naval architects Gibbs & Cox. The design process was notable as the initial design was accomplished with the help of computers in 18 hours by Raye Montague, a civilian U.S. Navy naval engineer, making it the first ship designed by computer. The "Oliver Hazard Perry"-class ships were produced in long "short-hull" (Flight I) and long "long-hull" (Flight III) variants. The long-hull ships (FFG 8, 28, 29, 32, 33, and  36–61) carry the larger SH-60 Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters, while the short-hulled warships carry the smaller and less-capable SH-2 Seasprite LAMPS I. Aside from the lengths of their hulls, the principal difference between the versions is the location of the aft capstan: on long-hull ships, it sits a step below the level of the flight deck in order to provide clearance for the tail rotor of the longer Seahawk helicopters. The long-hull ships also carry the RAST (Recovery Assist Securing and Traversing) system (also known as a Beartrap (hauldown device)) for the Seahawk, a hook, cable , and winch system that can reel in a Seahawk from a hovering flight, expanding the ship's pitch-and-roll range in which flight operations are permitted. The FFG 8, 29, 32, and 33 were built as "short-hull" warships but were later modified into "long-hull" warships. "Oliver Hazard Perry"-class frigates were the second class of surface ship (after the s) in the US Navy to be built with gas turbine propulsion. The gas turbine propulsion plant was more automated than other Navy propulsion plants at the time and could be centrally monitored and controlled from a remote engineering  control center away from the engines. The gas turbine propulsion plants also allowed the ship's speed to be controlled directly from the bridge via a throttle control, a first for the US Navy. American shipyards constructed "Oliver Hazard Perry"-class ships for the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Early American-built Australian ships were originally built as the "short-hull" version, but they were modified during the 1980s to the "long-hull" design. Shipyards in Australia, Spain, and Taiwan have produced several warships of the "long-hull" design for their navies. Although the per-ship costs rose  greatly over the period of production, all 51 ships planned for the U.S. Navy were built. During the design phase of the "Oliver Hazard Perry" class, head of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors, R.J. Daniels, was invited by an old friend, US Chief of the Bureau of Ships, Adm Robert C Gooding, to advise upon the use of variable-pitch propellers in the class. During the course of this conversation, Daniels warned Gooding against the use of aluminium in the superstructure of the FFG-7 class as he believed it would lead to structural weaknesses. A number of ships subsequently  developed structural cracks, including a fissure in USS "Duncan", before the problems were remedied. The "Oliver Hazard Perry"-class frigates were designed primarily as anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare guided-missile warships intended to provide open-ocean escort of amphibious warfare ships and merchant ship convoys in moderate threat environments in a potential war with the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries. They could also provide air defense against 1970s- and 1980s-era aircraft and anti-ship missiles. These warships are equipped to escort and protect aircraft carrier battle groups, amphibious landing groups, underway replenishment groups, and merchant ship  convoys. They can conduct independent operations to perform such tasks as surveillance of illegal drug smugglers, maritime interception operations, and exercises with other nations. The addition of the Naval Tactical Data System, LAMPS helicopters, and the Tactical Towed Array System (TACTAS) gave these warships a combat capability far beyond the original expectations. They are well suited to operations in littoral regions, and for most war-at-sea scenarios. Notable combat actions. "Oliver Hazard Perry"-class frigates made worldwide news during the 1980s. Despite being small, these frigates were shown to be extremely durable. During the Iran–Iraq War, on 17 May  1987, was attacked by an Iraqi warplane. Struck by two Exocet anti-ship missiles, thirty-seven U.S. Navy sailors died in the deadly prelude to the American Operation Earnest Will, the reflagging and escorting of oil tankers through the Persian Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz. Less than a year later, on 14 April 1988, was nearly sunk by an Iranian mine. No lives were lost, but 10 sailors were evacuated from the warship for medical treatment. The crew of "Samuel B. Roberts" battled fire and flooding for two days, ultimately managing to save the ship. The U.S. Navy retaliated  four days later with Operation Praying Mantis, a one-day attack on Iranian oil platforms being used as bases for raids on merchant shipping. Those had included bases for the minelaying operations that damaged "Samuel B. Roberts". "Stark" and "Roberts" were each repaired in American shipyards and returned to full service. "Stark" was decommissioned in 1999, and scrapped in 2006. "Roberts" was decommissioned at Mayport on 22 May 2015. On 18 April 1988, was accompanying the cruiser and frigate when they came under attack from the Iranian gunboat which fired a U.S. made Harpoon missile at the ships. With "Simpson  having the only clear shot, the frigate fired an SM-1 standard missile which struck Joshan". "Simpson" fired three more SM-1s, and with later naval fire from "Wainwright", sank the Iranian vessel. Durability. On 14 July 2016, the ex- took over 12 hours to sink after being used in a live-fire, SINKEX during naval exercise RIMPAC 2016. During the exercise, the ship was directly or indirectly hit with the following ordnance: a Harpoon missile from a South Korean submarine, another Harpoon missile from the Australian frigate , a Hellfire missile from an Australian MH-60R helicopter, another Harpoon missile and a Maverick  missile from US maritime patrol aircraft, another Harpoon missile from the cruiser , additional Hellfire missiles from a US Navy MH-60S helicopter, a 900 kg (2,000 lb) Mark 84 bomb from a US Navy F/A-18 Hornet, a GBU-12 Paveway laser-guided 225 kg (500 lb) bomb from a US Air Force B-52 bomber, and a Mark 48 torpedo from an unnamed US Navy submarine. Modifications. United States. The U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy modified their remaining "Perry"s to reduce their operating costs, replacing Detroit Diesel Company 16V149TI electrical generators with Caterpillar, Inc.- 3512B diesel engines. Upgrades to the "Perry"-class  were problematic, due to "little reserved space for growth (39 tons in the original design), and the inflexible, proprietary electronics of the time", such that the "US Navy gave up on the idea of upgrades to face new communications realities and advanced missile threats". The U.S. Navy decommissioned 25 “FFG-7 Short” ships via "bargain basement sales to allies or outright retirement, after an average of only 18 years of service". From 2004 to 2005, the U.S. Navy removed the frigates' Mk 13 single-arm missile launchers because the primary missile, the Standard SM-1MR, had become outmoded. It would supposedly have  been too costly to refit the Standard SM-1MR missiles, which had little ability to bring down sea-skimming missiles. Another reason was to allow more SM-1MRs to go to American allies that operated "Perry"s, such as Poland, Spain, Australia, Turkey, and Taiwan. As a result, the "zone-defense" anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) capability of the U.S. Navy's "Perry"s had vanished, and all that remained was a "point-defense" type of anti-air warfare armament, so they relied upon cover from AEGIS destroyers and cruisers. The removal of the Mk 13 launchers also stripped the frigates of their Harpoon anti -ship missiles. However, their Seahawk helicopters could still carry the much shorter-range Penguin and Hellfire anti-ship missiles. The last nine ships of the class had new remotely operated 25 mm Mk 38 Mod 2 Naval Gun Systems installed on platforms over the old MK 13 launcher magazine. Up to 2002, the U.S. Navy updated the remaining active "Oliver Hazard Perry"-class warships' Phalanx CIWS to the "Block 1B" capability, which allowed the Mk 15 20 mm Phalanx gun to shoot at fast-moving surface craft and helicopters. They were also to have been fitted with the Mk 53 DLS  Nulka missile decoy system, in place of the SRBOC (Super Rapid Blooming Offboard Chaff) and flares, which would have better protected the ship against anti-ship missiles. It had been planned to outfit the remaining ships with a 21-cell RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launcher at the location of the former Mk-13, but this did not occur. On 11 May 2009, the first International Frigate Working Group met in Mayport Naval Station to discuss maintenance, obsolescence and logistics issues regarding "Oliver Hazard Perry"-class ships of the U.S. and foreign navies. On 16 June 2009, Vice Admiral Barry McCullough turned down  the suggestion of then-U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) to keep the "Perry"s in service, citing their worn-out and maxed-out condition. However, U.S. Representative Ander Crenshaw (R-FL) and former U.S. Representative Gene Taylor (D-MS) took up the cause to retain the vessels. The "Oliver Hazard Perry"-class frigates were to have been eventually replaced by Littoral Combat Ships by 2019. However, the worn out frigates were being retired faster than the LCSs are being built, which may lead to a gap in United States Southern Command mission coverage. According to Navy deactivation plans, all "Oliver Hazard  Perry"-class frigates would be retired by October 2015. "Simpson" was the last to be retired (on 29 September 2015), leaving the Navy devoid of frigates for the first time since 1943. The ships will either be made available for sale to foreign navies or dismantled. "Perry"-class frigate retirement was accelerated by budget pressures, which will lead to the remaining 11 ships being replaced by only eight LCS hulls. With the timeline LCS mission packages will come online unknown, there is uncertainty if they will be able to perform the frigates' counter-narcotics and anti-submarine roles when they are gone . The Navy is looking into Military Sealift Command to see if the Joint High Speed Vessel, Mobile Landing Platform, and other auxiliary ships could handle low-end missions that the frigates performed. The U.S. Coast Guard harvested weapons systems components from decommissioned Navy "Perry"-class frigates to save money. Harvesting components from four decommissioned frigates resulted in more than $24 million in cost savings, which increases with parts from more decommissioned frigates. Equipment including Mk 75, 76 mm/62 caliber gun mounts, gun control panels, barrels, launchers, junction boxes, and other components were returned to service aboard s to extend their  service lives into the 2030s. In June 2017, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson revealed the Navy was "taking a hard look" at reactivating 7-8 out of 12 mothballed "Perry"-class frigates to increase fleet numbers. While the move is under consideration, there would be difficulties in returning them to service given the age of the ships and their equipment, likely requiring a significant modernization effort. Although bringing the frigates out of retirement would provide a short-term solution to fleet size, their limited combat capability would restrict them to acting as a theater security cooperation, maritime security asset . Their likely role would be serving as basic surface platforms that stay close to U.S. shores, performing missions such as assisting drug interdiction efforts or patrolling the Arctic so an extensive upgrade to the ships' combat systems wouldn't need to be undertaken. An October 2017 memo recommended against reactivating the frigates, claiming it would cost too much money that would take funding from other Navy priorities to get little effectiveness. Australia. Australia spent A$1.46bn to upgrade the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) guided-missile frigates, including equipping them to fire the SM-2 version of the Standard missile, adding  an eight-cell Mark 41 Vertical Launching System for Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles, and installing better air-search radars and long-range sonar. The RAN had opted to retain their "Adelaide" frigates rather than purchase the US Navy's destroyers; the "Kidd"s were more expensive and manpower intensive but much more capable. However the upgrade project ran over budget and fell behind schedule. The first of the upgraded frigates, , returned to the RAN fleet in 2005. Four frigates were eventually upgraded at the Garden Island shipyard in Sydney, Australia, with the modernizations lasting between 18 months and two years. The  cost of the upgrades was partly offset, in the short run, by the decommissioning and disposal of the two older frigates. was decommissioned on 12 November 2005 at naval base in Western Australia, and was decommissioned at that same naval base on 20 January 2008. was decommissioned at the Garden Island naval base in 2016. HMAS Darwin was also decommissioned at Garden Island in 2018. The "Adelaide"-class frigates were replaced by three "Hobart"-class air warfare destroyers equipped with the AEGIS combat system. HMAS "Melbourne" and "Newcastle" were transferred in May 2020 to the Chilean Navy and serve as "Captain Prat  and Almirante Latorre". Turkey. The Turkish Navy had commenced the modernization of its s with the GENESIS (Gemi Entegre Savaş İdare Sistemi) combat management system in 2007. The first GENESIS upgraded ship was delivered in 2007, and the last delivery is scheduled for 2011. The "short-hull" "Oliver Hazard Perry"-class frigates that are currently part of the Turkish Navy were modified with the ASIST landing platform system at the Gölcük Naval Shipyard, so that they can accommodate the S-70B Seahawk helicopters. Turkey is planning to add one eight-cell Mk 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) for the Evolved Sea Sparrow  missile, to be installed forward of the present Mk 13 missile launchers, similar to the case in the modernization program of the Australian "Adelaide"-class frigates. TCG "Gediz" was the first ship in the class to receive the Mk 41 VLS installation. There are also plans for new components to be installed that are being developed for the Milgem-class warships ("Ada"-class corvettes and F-100-class frigates) of the Turkish Navy. These include modern Three-dimensional and X-band radars developed by ASELSAN and Turkish-made hull-mounted sonars. One of the G-class frigates will also be used as a  test-bed for Turkey's 6,000+ ton AAW frigates that are currently being designed by the Turkish Naval Institute. Related legislation. The Naval Vessel Transfer Act of 2013 authorized the transfer of and to Mexico, and the sale of , , , and to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (which is the Taiwan agency designated pursuant to the Taiwan Relations Act) for about $10 million each. Considered for reactivation. On 13 June 2017, the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John M. Richardson announced that U.S. Navy officials are currently looking into the possibility of recommissioning  several "Oliver Hazard Perry"-class frigates from its inactive fleet to help build up and support President Donald Trump's proposed 355 ship navy plan. On 11 December 2017, the Navy decided against reactivating the class citing that reactivating the ships would prove too costly. As of 3 March 2021, the remaining "Oliver Hazard Perry"-class frigates, kept at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, are: