The ''Niterói'' class is a series of

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

s of the

Brazilian Navy The Brazilian Navy () is the navy, naval service branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces, responsible for conducting naval warfare, naval operations. The navy was involved in War of Independence of Brazil#Naval action, Brazil's war of independence ...

built by

Vosper Thornycroft VTG (formerly VT Group) is a privately held United States defense and services company, with its origins in a former British shipbuilding group, previously known as Vosper Thornycroft. The British part of VTG was integrated into Babcock Interna ...

of the United Kingdom and

Arsenal de Marinha do Rio de Janeiro The Rio de Janeiro Navy Arsenal (; AMRJ) is a military organization of the Brazilian Navy. It is located in Ilha das Cobras, at the Guanabara Bay, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The Arsenal is the main maintenance center and naval base of the B ...

based on the Type 21 frigates.

History

These frigates were designated the Mk 10 by Vosper Thornycroft and are the largest of a series of ships built by that shipyard for both foreign buyers and the Royal Navy. All of them were extensively modernized between 1996 and 2005 under the 'ModFrag' program. The projected completion was 2001, but due to lack of funds and

sea trial A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on op ...

s to verify the new software, the entire program had been slipped to 2005. A total of six ships were built. Two of the anti-submarines (ASW) and both of the general purpose (GP) version were built in England. The remaining two ASW ships were built at the Arsenal da Marinha in Rio de Janeiro with assistance from VT. The ASW ships had an

Ikara Ikara is a town and local government area (LGA) in Kaduna State, northern Nigeria, located around (85 km) north-east from the city of Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria, located at ...

missile launcher in Y position aft of the flight deck. This was removed as part of the modernisation programme. The GP ships had a second gun in "Y" position. A seventh ship was built as the navy's main training unit. The ship is identical to the other ships of the class, but is not fitted with weapons or sensors. From 2025, the class will be gradually replaced in "first-rank" roles by the newest frigates, the survivors will be revitalized and transferred to patrol duties in the fleet.

Ships of the class

Gallery

File:GLAM MB foto (1) (36124834124).jpg, ''Niterói'' File:Fragata Defensora (53286821102).jpg, ''Defensora'' File:2023 Trindade and Martin Vaz, Marinha do Brasil 106.jpg, ''Constituição'' File:Operações Aderex-Aeronaval e Urano-2021 IMG 9620 (51096946181).jpg, ''Independência'' File:Fragata Liberal (F43) e Fragata União (F45). (52790729240).jpg, ''Liberal'' and ''União'' File:Operação “Lançamento de Armas III - 2024 (53878696904).png,

Aspide Aspide, named for the asp, is an Italian medium range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile produced by Selenia and its successors, Alenia Aeronautica and MBDA that was developed in the 1970s to replace license built AIM-7 Sparrows then in us ...

fired by ''Defensora'' File:US and Brazilian navies participated in bilateral training evolutions 140809-N-AC979-398.jpg, ''União'' and ''USS America''

References

Bibliography

Marinha do Brasil (Brazilian Navy)
*Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995 *Cicalesi, J.C. e Del Gaizo, Cesar: ''La Marina brasiliana oggi'', RiD magazine, Chiavari, June 2006, pag. 50–55 *Saunders, Stephen. ''Jane's Fighting Ships 2002–2003''. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Information Group, 2002. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Niteroi-class frigate Frigate classes Frigates of the Brazilian Navy Ships built in Brazil