BRITISH “STEALTH” FRIGATE IN PALMA

A flotilla from NATO's Standing Naval Force Mediterranean (STANAVFORMED) sailed into Palma yesterday, including the Royal Navy's HMS Northumberland and the Spanish submarine Mistral. The Type 23 frigate is currently talking part in Operation Active Endeavour in the eastern Mediterranean, monitoring the busy shipping lanes from the Far Middle East that enter the Mediterranean from the Suez canal en route to Europe, and local traffic from the Black Sea, Near East and North Africa. The Northumberland and other fellow NATO warships taking part in Operation Active Endeavour, a three-month on/of operation in the Mediterranean, are also charged with keeping a constant lookout for terrorist related activity with all participating warships at a high alert state, ready to deal with any potential threats. The operation has become even more important since the September 11 attacks and the terrorist strike against the United States warship USS Cole in Yemen. However, last month the Northumberland was ordered to escort and provide protection to a British submarine, returning home from the Gulf through the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. The submarine was returning from a ten-month deployment, the latter stages of which were spent firing all of her tomahawk missiles into Iraq - hence the need for an escort, especially through the Suez Canal. The mission was completed successfully and the Northumberland has since resumed her duties as part of STANAVFORMED in the Mediterranean which has an important part in the history of the Northumberland. The frigate in Palma is in fact the seventh HMS Northumberland, the first, a 140-foot, 1.096 tonne, 70-gun Third-rate ship was part of the Mediterranean fleet from which 13 ships, including the Northumberland, were lost during the “Great Storm” of 1703. However, the present Northumberland is over three times the length with a displacement of 3.500 tonnes.
Type 23 frigates are the mainstays of the modern surface fleet, powerful and versatile with the capability to operate anywhere in the world.
The 16 type 23 frigates form 50 per cent of the total frigate/destroyer force in the Royal Navy.
The frigates are orginally designed for the principal task of anti-submarine warfare, they have evolved into powerful and versatile multi purpose ships The frigates carry Lynx helicopters and the armament includes Quad Harpoon Missile launchers, Vertical Launch Sea Wolf anti-missile systems, 20mm close range guns and magazine launched anti-submarine torpedo tubes. The Lynx helicopters are also heavily armed with Sea Skua anti-ship missiles, Stingray anti-submarine torpedoes, depth charges and machine guns.
The effectiveness of these ships is enhanced by their stealth design which makes them extremely difficult to detect by radar and in addition to fighting roles, the ship is trained to carry out a wide range of tasks including embargo operations, disaster relief work and surveillance operations.