GREAT FIND!!! just googled australian OHP upgraded frigates and came across this... lets call it the Super OHP.
The most prominent feature of RAN OHP is the installation of Mk41 for ESSM.
source: defenseindustrydaily
The FFG-7 Oliver Hazard Perry Class frigates make for a fascinating defense procurement case study.
To this day, the ships are widely touted as a successful example of cost containment and avoidance of requirements creep both of which have been major weaknesses in US Navy acquisition. The result was a capable 3,600t-4,100t anti-submarine platform, with some secondary air defense and anti-ship capabilities via its SM-1 Standard and RGM-84 Harpoon missiles, that could be bought in large enough numbers to fill the Navys needs. The ships hull twisting and cracking problems were solved early on, and
they proved they could take a hit and stay afloat when the USS Stark was struck by 2 Iraqi Exocet missiles during the Iran/ Iraq war. By FFG-36, the FFG-7 Flight III (Long) variant was the sole US production version, with an extra 8 feet of length that let it accommodate larger and more capable SH-60 Seahawk helicopters instead of the SH-2 Sea Sprites.
The bad news was the flip side of the good news. Very little reserved space for growth (39 tons in the original design), and the standard inflexible, proprietary electronics of the time, made updates problematic. So problematic, in fact, that the US Navy gave up on the idea of upgrading their electronics, radars et. al. for new communications realities and advanced missile threats. Instead, they removed the 25 FFG-7 Short ships from inventory via bargain basement sales to allies or outright retirement, after an average of only 18 or so years of service. The remaining 30 ships received minor upgrades but had their no-longer standard SM-1 missiles removed and with them, any air defense role. They do not operate in dangerous areas without cover from high-end AEGIS destroyers and cruisers.
Australias 6 ships of this class have served alongside the Navys more modern ANZAC Class frigates, which are undergoing upgrades of their own to help them handle the reality of modern anti-ship missiles. With the SEA 4000 Hobart Class air warfare frigates still just a gleam in an admirals eye, t
he government looked for a way to upgrade their FFG-7 Adelaide Class to keep them in service until 2020 or so. The A$ 1.46 billion SEA 1390 project has not gone very well
though the new Labor government is working to put a better face on it.
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) acquired 4 United States Navy designed FFG-7 class frigates (FFG-7 Flight I: FFG-17 now FFG 1 Adelaide, FFG-18 now FFG 2 Canberra, FFG-35 now FFG 3 Sydney and FFG-44 now FFG 4 Darwin) in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1983, the Australian Government decided to build 2 more ships of this class at the Williamstown Naval Dockyard now owned and operated by Tenix Defence Pty Ltd. HMAS Melbourne [FFG 05], was delivered in 1992. HMAS Newcastle [FFG 6] was delivered in 1993.
The supportability of the Adelaide Class had been the subject of discussion since 1987, culminating in the initiation of the FFG Upgrade Project in FY 93/94. Between 1993 and 1996, a Surface Combatant Force Study conducted within Australias Department of Defence analyzed the capabilities of their 14-ship surface combatant force,. Unsurprisingly, they concluded that the FFG 7 class required an increase in capability.
These 2 decisions to build 2 more 4,000t Adelaide Class frigates, and to begin a capability improvement program instead of buying second-hand 9,700t Kidd Class destroyers that the US was making available on the open market largely set the stage for what was to follow.
The Adelaide Class upgrade program has a number of elements, but the 3 most important are (1) a new combat and fire control system with an upgraded long-range air search radar, (2) improved air defense missiles, and (3) an upgraded sonar suite that includes both a new hull-mounted sonar and integration of towed sonars into a common data picture. Their goal was to create ships that would remain able to defend the fleet against aerial attacks, including supersonic anti-ship missiles that are beginning to appear in the region. The other regional trend involves a growing number of quiet diesel-electric submarines being purchased by nations near Australias sea lanes. Hence the need for ships with better anti-submarine capabilities.
Buying Kidd class destroyers would have improved both capabilities, while providing much more room for growth. That decision is water under the bow now.
Under SEA 1390, the Adelaide Class ships are receiving a modified and re-hosted FFG Naval Combat Data System (NCDS) and Australian Distributed Architecture Combat System (ADACS). It will operate on upgraded computers with new interfaces, and use an upgraded Local Area Network (LAN) to handle the need for higher data transmission rates. The Combat System will be supported by the introduction of the LINK 16 tactical data link to complement LINK 11, and provide better allied and helicopter interoperability.
Defensively, the old AN/SLQ-32v2 Slick 32 electronic support system that picks up and classifies enemy radar emissions is being replaced with newer technology. For underwater warfare, the AN/SQS-56 and MULLOKA sonar systems will be removed, in favor of an improved variant of the ANZAC Class Thompson (Thales) Spherion Medium Frequency Sonar. Electronics that can integrate the Spherions data with towed sonars, in order to provide the frigate with a single underwater picture, will be every bit as important.
Offensively, The Gun and Missile Fire Control System will be upgraded from Mk92 Mod 2 to Mod 12 variant, and the AN/SPS-49(V)4 air surveillance radar upgraded to AN/SPS-49A(V)1MPU. A multi-sensor Radar Integrated Automatic Detect and Track System (RIADT) is also added to improve target detection, tracking and engagement, particularly against low altitude targets in cluttered ocean or near-shore environments.
All this must work together well, in order to make the Improved Adelaide Class weapons upgrades effective. The ships existing Mk13 GMLS pop-up launcher will retain its 40 round magazine, but will be fitted for more advanced SM-2 anti-air missiles and Harpoon strike missiles (usually fitted 32 SM-2 and 8 Harpoon). An 8-cell Mk41 tactical-length (vs. longer strike length) vertical launching system adds room for another 8 SM-2 Standards or up to 32 shorter-range RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow air defense missiles.
Self-contained drop-in weapon changes round out the mix. The ships 20mm Phalanx CIWS last-ditch defense systems will be upgraded to Block 1B for better capabilities against UAVs, helicopters, and small boats, the MU90 Eurotorp lightweight torpedo will be ready in the torpedo tubes, the Harpoon anti-ship missiles will be RGM-84 Block IIs with GPS guidance and land attack capability, and RAFAELs Mini-Typhoon 12.7mm remote weapons systems will supplement the Phalanxs defenses against fast boats and similar threats.
The SEA 1390 project has had several phases:
* Phase 1 Project Definition Studies (1995-1998) completed
* Phase 2 FFG Upgrade Implementation (1999-2008)
* Phase 3 A Study into the replacement of the SM-1 missile.
* Phase 4A Upgrade of the existing test set to enable testing of the SM-1 replacement missile.
* Phase 4B Replacement of the SM-1 Missile capability.
The RFP for SEA 1390 was released in 1994, and Transfield Defence Systems of Melbourne (TDS, now Tenix Defence Pty Ltd), and ADI Limited of Sydney (now Thales Australia) were selected to conduct the Phase 1 Project Definition Studies. The Australian Government subsequently endorsed a list of capability improvements and supportability measures for the Adelaide Class.
ADI won the tender for Phase 2 on Nov 13/98, and signed an A$900 million contract on June 1/99. Options to enhance the ships electronic warfare capabilities, improve training facilities, et. al. would push this to A$ 962 million in February 1998 dollars. Comnpanies involved included:
* ADI Systems (now Thales Australia) Integration Authority and Combat System Design.
* Thales Underwater Systems (formerly Thompson Marconi Sonar) Underwater Warfare Design Agent.
* Gibbs and Cox Platform System Design Authority. The ships upgrades will push its weight to 4,200t, and American upgrades to 4,100t have pushed a hull designed for 3,600t into stability issues.
* AAI On Board Training System (OBTS)
* Lockheed Martin Naval Electronic and Surveillance Systems (LM NE&SS) Mk 92 Mod 12 Fire Control System.
* RAFAEL Electronic Support Measures. Tenix would become a RAFAEL subcontractor.
* CEA Data Fusion system.
Other major subcontractors include Raytheon and Lockheed Martin Launching Systems, who would handle the
8-cell Mk41 vertical launching system placed in front of the Mk13 pop-up launcher and magazine in the bow, and the ESSM and SM-2 missiles the ships will carry. Replacement of the diesel generators and air compressors will improve the ships supportability, and involve their own equipment contractors.
